I'm Not Supposed To Be here
by Raygair
Summary: Essentially a crossover event where an Original Character of mine enters the world of Madoka Magica and gets more than she bargained for. Through it all she makes a contract with the enigmatic Kyubey to not only survive, but to find a way back home.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1-Who are you?_

Akima looked at her phone's gps reading, and started to become frustrated. She somehow had fallen asleep on the train and it deposited her in some town called "Mitakihara", instead of being in Hokkaido. Since the train ride was reported to be 4 hours, she decided to take a quick nap during the journey, after a few snacks of course. Unfortunately, this resulted in passing out and eventually waking up after missing her transfer stop that would have connected her to Hokkaido

So…here she was. Alone in a city she had no idea about, separated from home by an entire ocean, and her friends were miles to the north of her. Putting her phone away, she decided to fulfill the one important constant in this universe; finding food. Luckily, she had been dropped off near one of the local train stations, so it was a simple matter of catching a train and looking up some restaurants. A nearby mall caught her eye, so she caught the next train headed there. This one happened to be full of middle school students; for the most part, aged 13-14. They weren't that much younger than her, but regardless she could feel the age gap between her and the students. Judging by the animated chatter, it was either lunch time or they had let out for the day. One thing she did notice was a trio of girls talking in hushed voices, and occasionally staring at her. She looked over and took into account her audience. One had flowing green hair and matching eyes. She kept looking at Akima with concern, but it was more for caution than interest. The next girl had pink hair that was tied up with ribbons, resulting in small pigtails to the side. She looked the shiest out of the group and looked away when Akima stared at her. Feeling slightly rude for doing so, she looked away as well, bringing her to the last one.

This one was tall, and her posture indicated a defensive stance in front of her friends while she glared at Akima. Her hair was a vibrant blue that matched well with her eyes, the color broken only by the pair of yellow hair clips behind her left ear. Feeling a sudden surge of resistance, Akima glared right back. The two remained locked in the staring contest for a good two minutes before Pink-hair tugged on the girl, signaling an end to their match. Akima got off as well, but headed in the opposite direction. At least for now she could bring her mind back to finding food rather than picking a fight with someone two years younger than her.

* * *

Sayaka glared at the strange girl that had been observing them. She was tall, probably a little older than them, and her entire demeanor placed her as a punk and a bully. Not to mention that her eyes were red. She'd never seen anyone with red eyes before. Homura was creepy, but this girl was downright intimidating, especially with those red eyes of hers. Feeling Madoka tug her along, she put those thoughts away for now. Besides, they were out for lunch, not worrying about strangers

After entering the mall, the three of them arrived at their usual spot. The restaurant itself was frequented by students from Mitakihara Junior High, so the company was welcome. Grabbing some food, she sat down with Hitomi and Madoka, eagerly anticipating her meal.

_So….um….uh..why were you glaring at that girl earlier?_

Sayaka barely registered Madoka's thoughts filtering into her own, so it didn't' really phase her until Madoka tried again. Without missing a beat, she bit into her hot dog to mask her reaction.

_Something about her bothered me. Kinda like how Homura gives off this weird vibe whenever she's around us. Whatever, I wouldn't worry about it for now. Besides, she dresses like some high-school dropout, so she's probably stupid or something. Don't worry, I'll protect you!_

She gave Madoka a smile, who promptly returned it. Hitomi frowned and continued her lunch. Clearly she was still having issues with the supposed "relationship" between the two of them, so Sayaka let her keep believing that. They both silently giggled at this and continued with their lunch. Kyubey nestled himself in between them, not adding to the conversation for now. Sayaka was busy running through a list of CDs in her head that she almost missed the strange girl from earlier walking into the café. She glared at her back, trying to bore right through her leather jacket. She watched as the girl struggled with what she wanted to eat. Sayaka's frown deepened when she finally ordered then proceeded to sit down at a table. She carefully watched her as she started eating, then paused and finally looked over at Sayaka. The girl's face went through a range of reactions; from confusion and shock, to angry and frustrated. Breaking eye contact, she resumed her meal, prompting Sayaka to look back to their own food. Madoka looked over and withheld a gasp.

_ Did she follow us? If so I'm starting to become really scared!_

Sayaka fed back some positive vibes through their link and finished her lunch. Seeing the girl finish up her food rather quickly, Sayaka breathed a sigh of relief once she left; for now, she was gone and hopefully for good. Calmly cleaning up her tray, she watched as Hitomi nodded to them both, no doubt heading off to another tea practice. Once Madoka was finished, they both dumped their garbage and headed to the music store.

* * *

Akima climbed the escalator, having located the music store she spotted on the way in. If she was going to be stranded here for a while, she might as well have some tunes. Pulling her suit case behind her, she hefted her backpack over her shoulder and headed inside the store. A clerk stopped her to do a bag check, prompting her to remove her baggage and surrender it until she was done. Smaller bags were fine, but hers apparently warranted a bag check. Heading over to the CD racks in the back, she pulled a pair of headphones off the stand and put them on. Her ears were immediately assaulted by a mix of cool beats, riveting vocals, and electrifying instruments. Bobbing her head in time to the music, she let a grin escape onto her face as she scanned the shelves for the original CD. Pulling it out she looked up just in time to see Pink and Blue enter. Ducking behind the rack, she hoped they hadn't seen her, because this was the second time they were in the same space together. Luckily for her, they hadn't yet, so she quickly grabbed another CD and headed to the cash register to make her purchase.  
"Oh! Will this be it?" The cashier asked as she wrapped up the two CDs and handed them back to Akima. Nodding, she paid quickly and retrieved her bags. Escaping from the store, she made her way down the escalator and out of the mall, breathing a sigh of relief that she hadn't been seen. She didn't' know why, but being around the blue-haired girl made her feel strange. Pulling out her map, she consulted the city legend to find a hotel to stay in until her train came by again. Unlike the others, this one was an extremely special train that ran every 3 days. Thankfully she had money to check into a cheap hotel until then, and the faster she got away from this city the better.

Kyubey perched on a streetlight and watched Akima make her escape. Tilting his head to the side, he scanned her and was surprised by the amount of emotional energy she radiated. Although, it was giving off a strange reading; the reading itself appeared to indicate that she was not of this world, or this universe for that matter. Which led him to ask himself….how did she get here? And more importantly…..would she be willing to form a contract?

* * *

Akima stared at her phone in confusion. It had been several hours since her escape from the mall and the sun was starting to set on the horizon. Sighing, she looked at the building in front of her. There was no way in hell that this was a hotel. The entire building was constructed along the lines of an apartment building, right down to the oversized planters in front. The front door was made of two gilded, sliding-glass doors that were part of a view of the interior, culminating in a window that occupied the building's front. She looked at the address on her phone, then back to the address posted on the building.

Yup, this was the place all right.

Tucking her phone away, Akima pulled her suitcase behind her and hefted her backpack. After having made her escape from the mall, she had stuffed one of the CD's inside her pack and was currently listening to the other. Upon entering the building, she headed for the front desk and tapped at the glass booth. Inside was a man well into his 50s, and behind him laid a small plaque board of keys. The rest were lockboxes of some sort it seemed. When the man didn't stir from his nap, she knocked again, clearly startling him.  
"Uh…hi. I'm wondering, do you guys have hotel rooms, because this looks and awful lot like an apartment building." She asked keeping her fingers crossed. The man behind the glass nodded and selected a key from a separate rack.

"Yes. We do have a small collection of rooms available for nightly stays. Only a maximum of five days however. And yes, this is strictly an apartment building, catering to middle-class families. If you'll sign here, I'll get you a room." He responded, handing her a key and release form. Signing it, Akima passed the sheet and payment under the receiving slot and took the key. Bowing in thanks, she turned around and spun the key. She stopped short when she caught a familiar face walking through the doors.

Ol' Blue-hair was back, and she was just as surprised as Akima was to see her.

"YOU!" She shouted, dropping both her school bag and the bag from the CD store.  
"Me? What about YOU?! Are you stalking me?" Akima shrieked, clearly not amused by this turn of events. Blue-hair snarled at her and clenched her fists.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, creeper! Why are you following me an' Madoka around?" She took another defensive stance and lowered her posture, as if to charge. Akima felt the static electricity in her starting to warm up, as her hair stood on end. Technically speaking, she wasn't supposed to tap into her electro-manipulation in public, but this called for it. However, at the same time she was really tired and in no mood for a fight. Reducing the charge she had been building, she calmed herself and leveled her gaze at the girl.

"Look, I'm just here for a few days, so stay away from me kiddo." She said, turning for the elevator. Hopefully the girl wouldn't follow her and cause a fight.

As soon as the girl left, Sayaka marched over to the man, pointing at the elevator.  
"Who was she?" She asked, a frown etching itself into her features. The man sighed and shook his head.  
"Ms. Miki, you know better than to ask me about that." He responded, shutting down her questions without a further glance. Sighing, Sayaka decided to head upstairs for now. If she hurried now ,she could get some homework done! The thought of going out on her first patrol after saving both Madoka and Hitomi last night excited her especially now that it was expected of her. She was a little surprised though, to see the strange girl here of all places. This was the last thing she expected to see, especially after coming back from visiting Kyouske at the Hospital. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the giddiness returning; the joy she felt at hearing Kyouske play again warmed from the inside out, and sent her mind spinning.

She was happy about making that her wish all right.

Oh so very happy.

* * *

After an hour, Sayaka came out and greeted Madoka, happy that her friend was coming along for the ride. Of course this also meant that she'd have to protect her as well.  
"So…..Sayaka, who was that girl?" Madoka asked, a little nervous about the subject. Sayaka picked up on her distress and smiled.  
"Some creeper probably. Don't worry, as an Ally of Justice it's my job to keep you safe! Besides, you're my waifu! I'm not gonna let anyone lay a hand on you!" She answered, glomping Madoka from behind. She giggled in response to Madoka's cries of protest, ignoring that Kyubey was staring behind them. Madoka tried to break free but Sayaka held on tight. Akima, who had taken it upon herself to actually stalk them had waited for Sayaka's electrical signature to leave her room before tailing after her. Seeing the interaction between the two, Akima rolled her eyes at the display and waited for them to calm down.

Sayaka finally released Madoka and gave her a friendly hug, giggling at the expense of Madoka's distress. The two continued their journey back into the city, with Madoka holding onto Kyubey as Sayaka scanned for a witch. Finally entering one of the shopping districts, Sayaka watched her soul gem glow brighter the closer they got. Smiling to herself she led Madoka towards the witch, eager to make her second kill. Still trailing behind them, Akima felt her stomach growl and started looking for some place to grab a snack. Akima lagged behind them to grab some pocky from a nearby store and was snacking on it by the time Sayaka changed directions. Deciding she was fed up with following them, she headed in the opposite direction, only to catch a flash of long, wavy red hair heading in the opposite direction.

Right after Sayaka.

Curious, Akima followed along, but decided to follow Red-hair this time instead of Sayaka. Making sure to keep her distance, she wasn't prepared for the girl to glow suddenly and reappear in a red dress with a very intimidating spear.

_ What the? Where did she get that? _Akima thought as she watched Red-hair leap from fire escape to fire escape to gain access to the roof. Curious, she followed, but climbed up the normal way instead of attempting silly stunts. Finally reaching the top, she paused for a second to check the amount of pocky she had left, then nodded. If need be, she had enough fuel to recharge her electro-manipulation if she had to be pulled into a scuffle. Who knows, maybe finally using those powers would scare them off? A confrontation was definitely certain between her and Blue-hair at this point, so having an extra ace in the hole was welcome.  
Hearing an argument coming from the alley below, Akima approached the edge, carefully climbing down to a better vantage point on the fire escape. Below her, Red-hair was arguing with Blue hair, and it seemed Blue-hair was in one of those fancy dresses that Red-hair had been decked out in. Her's was different in that she had a cape and a sword, compared to Red's spear and dress. The argument ended, however, the minute Blue-hair took a swing at Red-hair, only to have it blocked

In quick succession. Red-hair uttered some dismissive remark, then shoved Blue-Hair back and followed up with an attack from her spear. _What? A whip? That thing can turn into a whip?_ She pondered as Pink-haired cried out "Sayaka-chan!", prompting Akima to assume Blue-hair was called Sayaka. Watching as Red-hair retracted the whip, Akima winced the second Sayaka collided with some water pipes, not only rupturing them, but collapsing into a puddle around the pipes. looked on in wonder as Sayaka became surrounded in a blue-ish glow, healing any wounds she had obtained. Another verbal exchange was made and the two resumed fighting.

"Okay…I've seen enough of this crap." Akima said to herself, charging up her electricity. With a snap-hiss, an electrical sphere coalesced to life in her hand. Stepping up onto the railing, she eyed the scene below and aimed it so she'd drop down behind Red-hair. Taking a deep breath, she leaped down. In a rush of wind and static electricity, she landed, discharging right into Red-hair, who was currently backing up. The surprise electrical attack not only stunned Kyoko, but the resultant static discharge sent a volts through her system. Standing up, she waited for her stun to wear off, watching as Red-hair stood up and leveled her spear at her.

"HEY BACK OFF! I'm teaching this little snot a lesson!" Red-hair barked, brandishing the spear with a smirk "Now, if you want one too, you're gonna have to get in line!"  
Akima rolled her eyes at such a display; this girl reminded her of herself on one too many levels. The arrogant smirk, the over-confident attitude, and the smug self-assurance that nothing could break her radiated off of this girl like a bad smell, causing Akima to sigh.

"Really? You're gonna threaten a girl who can summon electricity with the snap of her fingers?" She countered, then summoned another ball of electricity to emphasize her point. "My cat is more threatening than you."

Kyoko looked shocked at that response. Snarling, she turned back to Sayaka "I changed my mind, I'll deal with you later. I gotta cut this bitch down to size!" Without warning, she charged with her spear, then planted it into the ground to get some altitude on Akima. Smirking, Akima backflipped, then flung the ball in mid-flip. Soaring through the air, it connected with Kyoko's abdomen, sending her into a convulsing episode of electrical shocks and uncontrolled flight. Colliding with a fire escape, she landed with a hard smack onto the ground. Picking herself up as Akima rose out of her flip, she spun her spear around.  
"You still wanna throw down you little shit? Or are you gonna stop picking on people who aren't worth your time?" She asked, charging up again. She ignored the loud grumbling of her stomach and dropped into a defensive stance, her arms held behind her. Kyoko sighed, the unleashed an attack with the whip of her spear. The motion momentarily confused Akima before she ducked under it and slapped a hand to it. Discharging again, she sneered as Kyoko took the full brunt of the current, stumbling backwards as her body began to numb itself. Akima watched as Kyoko began to breathe heavily, her body clearly not cut out for these attacks. Seeing that this fight was over with, Akima began to clap.  
"I gotta hand it to you, you had Blue over here on the ropes, but I don't' like people bullying each other, now get lost." Akima said, watching as Kyoko turned to leave. She turned around as well and was about to leave when she felt a heavy impact from behind. Kyoko's spearhead exploded from Akima's stomach, sending a spray of blood all over the brickwork. Looking down in shock, Akima's mind shut down as she processed that she'd just been impaled.  
"Wha-….what, I do-" she managed to say before Kyoko yanked the spear out of her.

""Maybe you shoulda just stayed out of this, dumbass. And as for you," Kyoko said, turning to Sayaka, "the next time I see you out and about, we're finishing what we started." With a flash of her spear, Kyoko leaped up to the fire escape and onto the roof. Akima lay in a puddle of her own blood, coughing on it as it filled up her lungs.

_Wait…I'm not….this isn't…this isn't fair, _ She thought as Kyubey approached her. By Now Sayaka had reverted back to human form and was running towards her.  
"This doesn't look good. I'm afraid you're going to die soon if you don't' get help immediately….but! If you make a contract with me, I can save your life!" Kyubey said as Sayaka finally approached Akima. She appeared to be yelling at her, but Akima couldn't make out words; just her mouth moving. She was kind of sad; she wouldn't get to spend some time with her friends after all. She wouldn't be able to spend time with her mom and dad while here, and above all else, she still hadn't gotten a boyfriend.

_Wow...this sucks._

This probably would never have happened if she hadn't overslept on the train, or followed Sayaka tonight.

The strange cat thing approached her again, tapping her with its paw.  
"Hurry! You don't have much time left!" It insisted, pawing at her again. She looked at him and nodded.  
"Okay…..I don't….see….why not. I mean...if you can save me..." She said, finally closing her eyes. Kyubey nodded, then reached forward with his ears to extract her soul.

"Here is your fate,…accept it!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2- What is this?_

Akima's eyes opened finally, taking in the sight before her. Sayaka stood over her in sheer wonder while Madoka stood behind her some distance away. She looked down at her torso and was surprised to see dark grey leather instead of a bleeding stomach. She looked at her hands and was surprised to see that one hand was fingerless and the other had a finger being covered. This culminated in two gauntlets that were also crafted from leather. She felt tightness around her throat and was surprised to find that she had a white button-up and a tie affixed there, as well as a fabric mask on the lower part of her face. Pulling the mask down, she felt the final piece of this bizarre costume; some kind of gem had been pressed into a headband she was wearing. It rested on her forehead and extended to the back of her head, somewhat similar to a crown except it was holding a majority of her hair in place. She sat up and looked at the rest of her; in addition to the button-up she had armored gauntlets, and fingerless gloves. Her outfit sported a sleeveless outer jacket that was belted in the front. Below that was an orange skirt that clung to her legs. While it did not offer much freedom of movement, it did offer some flexibility, so she could perform a roundhouse or a high-kick if needed. Next to her lay an oversized blade that was shaped along the lines of a knife, yet still maintained the look of a great sword. Gripping the pommel, Akima was surprised at its lightness, then used it to stand up.

She steadied herself and took in her surroundings. Sayaka stood in front of her and smiled slightly. Frowning, Akima felt a glow from her soul gem and immediately shifted back into her human form. In her hand sat an egg-like globe that pulsed with an inner orange light. That eventually disappeared and was replaced by a silver ring on her finger. The ring was inscribed with a strange se of runes, and her finger nail was marked with an orange circle.

"Ooookay. What just happened?" She asked, confused with how events had recently played out.

"Well….you formed a contract with me, and I did save your life. In exchange, you must now fight witches and protect this city!" Kyubey said gleefully. Not once did its mouth move while he spoke, so Akima assumed some form of telepathy. Looking at Sayaka, she caught a similar flash of silver and spotted her ring. Her finger was decorated with a blue "C" that was weirdly proportioned. So….that must mean, that mine is a circle? I mean, well hers was a "C" as well, and on her stomach. What a weird place to put that thing. As she thought, she began trying to put pieces together, but sighed and reached into her pocket for some pocky.  
"All right, let me get this straight. Since Red was beating up on Sayaka here, I intervened. I fight Red for a few, then turn my back on her. Now, because that red-head stabbed me in the chest, you came along and saved me. As a result, I'm what, some kind of magical girl?" Akima asked no one in particular. She pulled the magical girl reference out because this was suspiciously starting to turn into a scenario from an anime of hers; Girl gets an adorable mascot and crazy powers to boot, then has to fulfill some destiny or something.

"Kinda. I mean, while I still don't like you and all I wanna say thanks for rescuing me like that." Sayaka said, finally breaking the silence and pulled Akima from her thoughts.

"Well congrats kid, you get a pocky stick." Akima replied, handing over the box. Sayaka looked at it for a few seconds, then back at Akima before taking one. "Don't worry I don't' bite that much. Hey Pink, you want some too?" Akima was in the process of handing the box to Madoka before Sayaka interrupted.

"HEY! She has a name and it's Madoka!" Sayaka took a defensive stance while Madoka flinched and stepped behind her. Akima stared, then closed the distance between her and Sayaka. After a few tense moments, she pulled her in for a hug.

"Oh you're so adorable when you're mad! You're like my cat when she's trying to play with me!" She said, ignoring Sayaka's protests. She finally released her, giggling at Sayaka's distress. Sayaka still fumed at being hugged, but she was less apprehensive about Akima than before. Besides, she was a newly minted Puella Magi, and she seemed a lot more supportive of Sayaka than the red-haired girl was. Plus she was older than her, so she had more experience on things than she did. Sayaka still didn't' have to like her though, even if she did back her up during the fight. She was about to open her mouth when she heard a stomach growl. Akima sighed and patted her stomach.

"You guys haven't eaten yet right? I'm really starving." She said, checking her wallet for cash. Sayaka looked at Madoka and nodded. "Not really." She replied. Smiling, Akima took Sayaka and Madoka by the shoulders and lead them back to the street.

* * *

Sayaka and Madoka watched in shock as Akima wolfed down her fourth bowl of steamed rice. She reached into the hotpot for some more meat and found Akima's chopsticks already blocking her path. Snarling, Akima snatched up the cut of beef and dunked it in her soup before cramming it into her mouth. Sayaka pulled a face and pulled back for now; clearly when it came to food, Akima was the alpha dog. They had decided on a local vendor that was pretty cheap in terms of food, and definitely favored traditional cuisine; something Akima was clearly not a stranger to. While they waited for food, Akima filled them in on her situation, while they filled her in on the events of the last few days. Akima nodded in turn, but all attention diverted to eating when the food arrived. So for now they were waiting for her to finally get tired of eating before they could talk again. Finally pausing, Akima wiped her mouth and sat back, idly feeding Kyubey a small dumpling.

"So tell me more about this Homura-chick. She seems pretty creepy." Akima said, marveling at how quickly Kyubey devoured the morsel. Madoka shifted uncomfortably while Sayaka scoffed at the name. "That bad huh?"

"Bad? She let Mami be killed; used her as bait to get the grief seed that witch dropped! She's as bad as that other girl!" Sayaka barked, slapping the table. A few patrons nervously looked over, but disregarded the outburst and kept eating.

"So what are her powers? She sounds like she could be a handful if she was able to kill that witch by being everywhere at once." Akima continued, grabbing a small chunk of rice before popping it into her mouth. She was going to reign back on the food for now; she could feel her energy reserves were almost full, leaving her with enough fuel for another fight. Her electrical-manipulation abilities still worked, but she had a strong bet they wouldn't if she turned into a Magical girl again.

"To be honest, I don't' know. However, I got a sneaky suspicion she can control time." Sayaka finished, then idly grabbed a piece baby corn from the pot. By now Akima had backed off from food, so she and Madoka had free reign on the leftovers. Akima let them eat their fill before summoning a small sphere of electricity. She spun it between her fingers before using it to charge her cell phone. Both girls looked on in awe as she did it again to her mp3 player, then watched as she popped it into her mouth to swallow it.

"How are you doing that?" Madoka finally asked, coming out of her shell temporarily. Akima shrugged, unsure how to answer that question. Licking her lips, she waited for the sudden surge in electrical energy to run its course through her system before deciding to respond.

"I really don't know to be honest. I can just summon electricity. It's come in handy when I need it, but it's a pain in the ass to maintain though; I need food to keep generating a current. In fact, a lot of food, and you saw how fast I went through those bowls of rice. It's a pretty shitty way to have an internal battery, but hey, I keep trim with zero extra effort" Akima answered, sitting back in her chair while she idly nibbled on a straw. Sayaka nodded, then checked her watch. "We kinda should head home. I wasn't expecting to be out this late." She said, ushering Madoka out of the booth. "You coming back with us?" Akima stroked her chin and considered her next course of action. If she stayed with them, they'd get home all in a group. That being said Red-hair was still out there. Not to mention Homura was also out there too. So she might need to take to the roofs to keep an eye on them. Nah. They'd be better off in a cluster. Less of a target that way. Getting up, Akima paid for the bill and followed the two out.

* * *

Kyoko watched from the rooftops as three girls left the restaurant. She could attack them now, since they weren't that heavy of an area, but then she spotted where they were headed; the train station. Sure enough, the crowd began to grow in size until she actually lost them in the crowd. Snarling, she was about to head back when Homura appeared in front of her. "So….you're that irregular that Kyubey's been yammering on about." Kyoko said, pointing two fingers at Homura. The other girl merely ran her hand through her hair, causing it to whip around in the light breeze. Kyoko stared for a few seconds before folding her arms.

"Well? You gonna talk or just sit there?" Homura stared at Kyoko, then back towards where the girls were.

"That remains to be seen. I wish to observe the new girl. I will come find you once I've seen enough." Homura said, before vanishing if a flash. Kyoko frowned; she'd expecting an answer to see if Homura was that "Irregular" that Kyubey mentioned, and she probably was. Procuring a small, squid-shaped biscuit from her pocket, Kyoko nibbled on it while watching the girls finally board the train. Disappointed in not being able to finish the fight with Sayaka, Kyoko vowed to keep an eye on her, and Akima. Getting up, she decided to go catch some sleep before tomorrow.

_ And I'm gonna pulverize you both_ she thought as she ran along the rooftops. _You'd better be prepared_

* * *

Akima awoke to sunlight pouring into her room. Already it was the second day and she still hadn't gotten a response from either her mother or her friends. Normally this would have her worried, but given recent events, she had a lot more things to worry about. Kyubey had kept her up late explaining what her new role meant. One of the questions she definitely wanted to answer was what happened if she lost her soul gem. She found out that 100 meters away resulted in an instant shut down of her body due to being disconnected from her soul. She found this scary, but nothing too unnerving; she just needed to keep it very close. Sitting up, she scratched her back and groaned about how sore it was. Apparently the mattress didn't' agree with her, or she was tossing around too much last night. Getting up, she dressed and heated up some ramen for breakfast. With ramen in hand, she exited her room and headed for the lobby, just in time to catch the elevator down with Sayaka. Her family lived on the third floor while Akima's room was on the second. Neither girl said a word to each other, but Sayaka fidgeted uncomfortably, no doubt brimming with questions. Once they exited the building, Akima walked with them in silence until they reached the route they needed to take for school. It was here she left them, for today she needed to do some recon.

Finding herself deeper into Mitakihara, Akima traveled the streets, holding her soul gem in front of her as a guide. It glowed faintly once or twice, but nothing strong enough for a witch. That was another thing she had Kyubey answer; strong pulse for a witch, soft pulse for a familiar. What she wasn't expecting was for it to suddenly glow red. And Red only meant one thing; Red-Hair was nearby. Following the pulse of her soul gem, Akima found herself wandering into a region that suspiciously resembled Akihabara back in Tokyo. The entire street was littered with electronics boutiques and unusual stores filled with electronic toys and games. The pulse grew stronger when she stopped outside of a gaming parlor, so Akima put her soul gem away. Pulling a box of mint pocky from her pocket, she munched on a few as she entered. Peering into the gloom, she could feel the electrical currents surging throughout the building. She took note of critical junctions in the electrical work and filed them away for later. Worse came to worst, she could short out the entire building to make a getaway. Finally spotting a flash of red hair, Akima ducked behind a racing game and watched from afar. Red-hair apparently was meeting with a black-haired girl, whom Akima assumed based off of the description the others had given her. She strained to hear them over the boom of the speakers in the place, then sighed and dampened the electrical signal coming from them. Anyone else would still be barraged with sound, but for her, this was just as similar to plugging in headphones.

"-able to follow her last night. I thought I would be able to track her, but she can mask her presence for some reason." Black-hair said, while Red-hair continued her dancing game.

"Well that's too bad. I was looking forward to smacking her around some more. It's too bad getting a spear through her belly didn't kill her, but what can ya do ya know?" Red-hair said, ending a perfect set before starting over again.

"Understood. That does not change my original reason for coming here. Do not engage Sayaka Miki again, understood? Leave her to me."

"And that other chick?" Red-hair asked, hitting a dance streak.

"She is of no importance, dispose of her if you wish, but I will eliminate her myself should you fail." With that, Black-hair turned with a flip of her hair, and left Red-hair to her game. Akima waited for Homura to leave before advancing on Red-Hair. Once behind her, she reached forward and shoved her face into the screen, exploding the monitor in a shower of sparks.

Kyoko was not prepared to be suddenly shoved into her game. So when the hand released her, she took a swipe at it, then looked on in shock as Electro-girl stood behind her.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't Red-hair playing games. Tell me, do you like screwing around, or do you actually take things seriously?" the girl said, charging her fist with electricity. By now the patrons were backing off from them or running for the entrance. The owner was desperately calling for the Police while ducking below the counter. Kyoko wiped a few strands of hair out of her face, and noted the small streaks of blood on them. Akima snapped her fingers and Kyoko felt a sudden jolt in her arm. Growling in anger, she summoned her soul gem, but suddenly found her arm frozen in place. Looking down, she saw it was shaking out of control, the result of an electric shock that was causing her muscles to spasm.  
"N-n-n-no fair!" Kyoko stammered, grabbing her arm to steady it. Akima only sighed.

"Yeah well it's either this or I let you stab me again, and I'm pretty sure I kinda like my intestines where they are. Now, who was that and why are you planning on beating up Sayaka?" Akima asked, charging her fist again. Kyoko huffed, then sneered. She started to put two and two together, and determined that "Electro-girl" was this "Akima" that Homura had mentioned earlier. If so, then she potentially knew how to push her buttons.

"Whyyy? Do you care for her? Are you in looooooove with her?" she asked, trying to get a rise out of Akima. She stopped smiling when Akima chuckled.

"Wow….is that the best you can do? I see her as an ally, nothing more. If it comes down to it though, I'll drop her in an instant. Now, next question, what's your name?" Akima asked, advancing on Kyoko. By now the arm had stopped twitching, but it was still very numb. Kyoko needed stall for time to escape.

"Kyoko, an' that's all you're getting dumbass." She replied, starting to feel the numbness fade. "An' as for your other question, I ain't telling you anything." Once the numbness had finally faded, Kyoko dodged to the side and transformed, summoning her spear. She slashed at Akima but was surprised to see she too had dodged and was holding onto a racing game. With a sneer, Akima drained the machine's power, sucking it into herself while her eyes started glowing. Instead of red , they turned pink and shimmered. Kyoko stared transfixed at the display, then back at her spear. It would seem that now was not a good time for it, unless she wanted to be turned into a Lite Brite. Stabbing a game next to her, she used the sudden explosion of sparks to cover her escape while she fled out the back. Turning human again, she climbed up a nearby ladder and made for the roof. Akima coughed as she struggled to find Kyoko's electrical signature through the smoke, but failed. Kyoko had given her the slip for now, so Akima had to make a run for it in case the cops showed up. Taking the back exit, she ran down an alleyway and pulled out her phone. If her time was right, then both Madoka and Sayaka had just gotten out for class. Knowing that they should be fine on the way back home, Akima started her trip back home. With luck she'd beat them there and could blow this whole thing off like nothing happened. Kyoko watched as Akima ran off in the opposite direction and sighed. This was getting harder every minute. She was fine up until this girl showed up yesterday, then to make matters worse not only could she wield electricity, but she was now a Puella Magi. At this rate there wouldn't be any Grief Seeds left over to harvest. Putting that aside for now, Kyoko decided to ignore Homura's warning and planned to attack Sayaka later. Now it was just a matter of finding her. Getting up, she took off across the rooftops to her hideaway, and to where she could eat something as well.

* * *

Sayaka sighed as she inhaled the evening air. It was the first day after Kyouske had been let out, and she planned on getting him another "welcome back!" present. Apparently his rehabilitation went well and he was released yesterday. While annoyed that he hadn't bothered to call her and let her know, she was still glad that he was starting to heal again. This brought a smile to her face and she clutched her bag of CDs tighter to her chest. Finally arriving at Kyouske's house, she stopped a few seconds before touching the bell, for she heard music wafting out above the walls. Listening closely, she smiled when she heard Kyouske playing his violin, and felt her heart beat faster.

"You know, he's not that bad." Akima said, stepping out of the shadows. Sayaka almost jumped, then tackled the older girl into the bushes. With a squeal, Akima collapsed into the bush and glared at Sayaka.

"Hey! What is wr-" she started, but stopped when Sayaka put a hand over her mouth.

"Keep your voice down! I don't want him to know that I'm here!" She hissed, finally removing her hand from Akima's mouth. Akima sighed and pushed Sayaka off of her. "You know, you're pretty immature when it comes to this whole 'crush' thing." Akima said, standing up and dusting herself off. She started walking forward before turning to look at Sayaka. "We need to sit down and tal-"

"Well, well, look what we got here." Akma halted and spun towards the voice, and sure enough there was Kyoko smiling at them while munching on a churro, or at least that's what it looked like to Akima. Scowling, she folded her arms.

"What do you want now?" she asked, giving Kyoko a hard stare. Kyoko only smiled, revealing two very sharp canines.

"Well. I never did fight you with your new abilities…..so how about a quick match? The winner gets to deal with Sayaka however they want." Kyoko said, ignoring the blush of embarrassment that Sayaka was having.

"H-h-hey! I'm not some plaything you know!" She squealed, checking the CDs for damage. When there was none, she put them down before stepping forward. Snarling, she prepared to summon her soul gem when Akima put up a hand.

"Now, now kitty cat, I'll play with you in good time. Not here though; too many eyes. Let's find somewhere more private." Akima quipped, looking forward to thrashing Kyoko around for a bit. Kyoko only smiled in response.

"My pleasure, idiot."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3-Why are we fighting?_

Kyoko led the three of them to an overpass, and took one half of the bridge.

"Show me a good time!" she exclaimed, summoning her soul gem. Akima whipped out hers and did a quick transformation, brandishing her great cleaver before Kyoko had her spear. Dashing forward, Akima smacked Kyoko with the flat of her blade, knocking her spear aside and sent her tumbling. Not letting up on the attack, Akima charged, just as Kyoko regained her feet. Swinging her spear around, she locked up against Akima's cleaver and snarled. Sparks flew as the two weapons ground against each other. While Kyoko may have had familiarity and experience on her side, Akima had brute strength and agility. Shoving Kyoko back, Akima came back in for another swing but missed as Kyoko's whip unfurled, yanking the spear out of range. Smashing the ground in front of her, Akima looked up as Kyoko used her spear to vault herself upwards. Whipping it around, she tucked her spear in close before taking a dive bomb at Akima. Realizing that blocking it would be pointless, Akima dodged to the side, just as the spear impacted. The ground erupted as Kyoko's attack demolished the pavement. Shards of broken stone and masonry flew in all directions, several of which sliced at Akima's torso. Narrowly dodging, she winced as she felt a few of them cut open her jacket and flayed the skin underneath. Akima watched with grim satisfaction as Kyoko suffered a similar fate, for a spare chunk sliced open her cheek and a flurry of pieces sliced into her arms. Getting up, both girls winced in pain at the recent attack, but more so Akima since she had gotten the brunt of it. A massive crater separated the two, with Akima's cleaver at the bottom. Sensing an opportunity, Akima summoned a ball of electricity and flung it, only to be surprised at what she just launched. Instead of electricity, a sphere of shimmering light appeared, partially blotting out Akima's vision with its glare. Catching Kyoko in the face, Akima watched as the ball exploded with a blinding luminosity, threatening to blind her permanently. Thankfully, the both of them had protected their vision, preventing themselves from being blinded. Either way, however, Kyoko was on the defensive. Summoning another blast, Akima shot a beam of coherent light at Kyoko, causing the other girl to duck under it. While she was distracted, Akima charged forward and grabbed her blade. Jumping above the rim, she blasted Kyoko again and then followed up by slashing at her abdomen. The blade only grazed her, tearing the fabric on her left side. Issuing a howl of rage, Kyoko unleashed a whip attack with her spear, binding Akima's blade arm in the process.

"Hah! You're pretty sl-" She started, but was interrupted when Akima suddenly dashed forward, loosening the whip in the process. Since there was no slack, Kyoko couldn't tighten it and fling her around, so she started backing up. Unfortunately, Akima was both taller and had a longer stride. Closing the distance, she backhanded Kyoko to stun her and readied for a punch. Pulling her arm back, Akima smashed her fist into Kyoko's mouth, snapping her head to the side. Momentarily stunned, Kyoko felt a sharp pain in her mouth and coughed up some blood. In addition she spat out several broken teeth fragments. Unfortunately, she had no time to take this in for Akima smashed Kyoko in the chest with her knee; knocking the wind from her lungs. Clearly this girl was better at close-quarters than she was, and this fight was over if she kept at it. Then she remembered one critical detail from earlier.

Akima's arm was still trapped.

Sneering, Kyoko yanked her spear towards her, pulling Akima's arm along with. With a yelp, Akima lost her footing and was pulled along with. The action sent her sailing into Kyoko, which she followed up with a hard elbow to Akima's back. The impact plowed Akima into the pavement, which allowed Kyoko some breathing room. Tossing the spear aside for now, Kyoko flipped Akima around and ripped her mask off. Cocking back her arm, she proceeded to pummel Akima's face. Twisting her face in anger, she rained blow after blow into Akima's mouth, watching with glee as blood splattered onto her fists.

"I KNEW YOU WERE WEAK, BUT THIS IS FRIGGIN' PATHETIC!" She roared, not letting up on the punches. She laughed manically as Akima feebly tried to push her off, only to have her arms shoved aside. Kyoko sneered as Akima's defense faltered, marveling at how weak this girl was when it came to a stand-up brawl. She pulled her fist back for another blow when she caught a flash out the corner of her eye. Rolling sideways, she narrowly missed being cut open by Sayaka's blade. The girl whipped her sword back and extended it behind her.

"Get…off …of…her." Sayaka said, her eyes alight with rage. Her cape billowed behind her in the light breeze as her hair swayed with it as well. Sensing that she meant business, Kyoko obliged and stepped away, while Akima feebly pulled herself forward. She was bleeding profusely from her mouth and her nose was broken. One of her eyes was closed shut, the skin around it a revolting purple. Still, she retrieved her cleaver and used it to stand up. It was clear that she was still in no condition to fight, given that she was leaning on it heavily, but she was still determined to put Kyoko down. Even if it hurt to move. By now, Kyoko had reclaimed her spear and spun it around, a bloody smile on her lips. Sayaka felt a growl forming in her throat; this girl really was pissing her off. First the attack yesterday in the alley and her mockery of her wish, now today with picking a fight and the severe beat-down she had just given Akima. Stepping in front of the older girl, Sayaka held her blade before her, preparing herself for the attack to come.

It never came.

Homura suddenly appeared behind Kyoko and bashed her with her shield, the impact knocking her unconscious. Inhaling sharply, Sayaka watched as Kyoko's limp form collapsed onto the pavement, while Homura advanced towards them. Her normally vacant eyes were alight with anger as her frown deepened into a scowl.

"Leave. I will not ask again." She commanded. As much as she wanted to thrash Homura for telling her what to do, both yesterday's and today's fight convinced Sayaka to back off. Turning back into her human form, she wrapped her arm around Akima, who had done likewise. Letting her shift her weight onto her instead, Sayaka allowed herself to support Akima, but winced at how heavy she was. Not bothering to look back, Sayaka assisted her back the way they came, focused on getting them home. Homura watched as they disappeared from view, then looked down at Kyoko. The girl was still out cold, and her injuries would have painted a picture of pity for anyone other than Homura. Bending down, she picked her up, tossed her over her shoulder, and then retrieved the spear. She'd let her recover back at her apartment, but that would be it. She still had some investigating of this "Akima" to do, especially considering the girl was now becoming more involved in the affairs of one Sayaka Miki. And if Sayaka was involved…

…..so was Madoka.

* * *

Akima awoke to pain, bright lights, and the harsh whistle of a tea kettle. Wincing, she sat up and reached for her side, and was surprised to find bandages there instead. Sayaka smiled at her from one end of the sofa, but then jumped up the minute she heard the whistle.

"Hey! Sorry about last night, I was kinda debating on how to break it up. You two really got into it." She said, pouring two cups of tea. Akima looked around the room and noticed that this was different than her hotel room. The possibility occurred to her that this may be Sayaka's room, but then she noticed the view from the window and eliminated that idea from the list. This room had the look of a high-rise and was much better furnished.

"Where are we?" Akima asked, looking down and her bandaged chest. Whoever had done the job was clearly not an expert, for some regions were looser than others. Either way, the bindings kept her from bleeding profusely, so for that she was grateful.

"We're….well, we're in Mami's apartment." Sayaka responded, a tinge of sorrow in her voice. She brought two steaming cups of tea with her and handed one to Akima. "It wasn't being used, and no one's come by to clear stuff out, so either she didn't have a lease here, or no one cares." Akima nodded and sipped the tea, then regretted it the minute her mouth exploded with pain. Apparently her mouth wasn't quite fully healed yet, for she could feel the missing teeth from last night, not to mention the searing pain from the water when it washed against her gums. Spitting the tea out, she skewered Sayaka with a glare, who chuckled nervously. Akima felt her face to see what else was new and discovered that a gauze patch had been plastered to her eye, and her right arm was splinted. Apparently having it yanked last night may have fractured it. Or maybe whoever bandaged her panicked and splinted it just in case. Sighing, she looked down and noticed that her polo shirt that she was wearing yesterday had been removed. Looking down at the bandages, she noticed a few gauze patches here and there, then the chest wrapping. She looked at it weirdly and frowned: the wrapping stopped just a hair away from her navel.

"Sayaka." She asked, looking at Sayaka accusingly

"Yes?"

"Did you strip me down last night?" she asked, clutching the saucer holding her cup. Sayaka blushed slightly and looked to the side, then turned back with a scowl.

"So what if I did, you needed medical attention! I had to drag Madoka out here just to fix you up too!" Sayaka shot back, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. Akima looked at her funny, then at the door when it opened. Madoka had arrived, a worried yet relieved look on her face, carrying a tray of scones and some juice with her.

"Um…I-I-I didn't know what you wanted, so I got you some scones from down the street!" She said, setting the tray down on Akima. Nodding her thanks Akima tried sitting up, biting back a gasp as pain shot through her ribs. Once she was in a proper position, she bit down on the scone. Once again, pain shot through her as her gums throbbed with agony. Swallowing the chunk, Akima scowled; she didn't like how quickly Kyoko thrashed her.

*clink*

Akima looked down at her plate and saw a weirdly shaped object. It was spherical, yet pierced through with a metal barb. It occasionally pulsed with an inner light, but the light was dark and smoky. Looking up in confusion, Akima spotted Kyubey sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Quick! You should purify your soul gem!" He said, approaching her. With a shrug, she summoned her soul gem and grabbed the object. She looked at her soul gem and was surprised to see that it was glowing a lot dimmer than usual. Shrugging it off, she held up both. "Okay, now what?" She asked. Sayaka sighed, then grabbed both of her hands and touched the object to her soul gem. Panicking, Akima started to protest, but watched in amazement as her gem glowed brighter.

"Wha-what just happened?" She asked, looking at Kyubey. He stared for the longest time before blinking. When he did, he grabbed the object and swallowed it.

"You purified your soul gem."

"How?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Sayaka killed a witch the other night, and was saving this grief seed for you." Kyubey said, curling up in Akima's lap. Something about him bothered her. "The only way to purify your soul gem is to cleanse it with a grief seed. And what you just used was a grief seed! In order to keep fighting, you need to get more. However, we have a problem; there's too many Puella Magi around, so there may not be enough for everyone!" Kyubey said, nibbling at a scone crumb. Akima looked at Sayaka, who rubbed the back of her neck.

"I don't get it, so why don't you explain it." She hissed, already becoming frustrated with where this was going.

"Normally, Mami would be the only one to do so, but since both you and Sayaka contracted recently, and Kyoko's intent on keeping Mitakihara as her territory…there's too many Puella Magi! Not to mention Homura as well." Kyubey replied, scratching himself. Akima frowned, then gently sat back.

"Well…Madoka and I have to go to school now, so stay here please! We'll be back later!" Sayaka commanded, hopping off the sofa and started putting her shoes on. Madoka gave a smile before doing likewise, then escorted Sayaka out. She held the door open for Kyubey and pointed at the fridge.

"We left you some lunch in case you get hungry later. Take care now!" Madoka exclaimed, giving one last smile before leaving. Akima waved with one bandage-shrouded hand but winced when the action sent pain through her system. She sighed and laid back, eventually nodding off to sleep.

* * *

Kyoko awoke, a little sore, but nothing too strenuous. Her neck hurt though. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed that the room she was in was completely white, save for an axe-shaped pendulum that swung back and forth. Floating pictures decorated the room, and revolved around its circumference. Sitting up, she swung her legs off the couch she was on and noticed her boots across the room. Putting her feet on the floor, she shivered as its chill shot through them. Walking over, she pulled her boots on, but stopped when she heard footsteps and rattling. Looking up, she saw Homura approach with a tea set and a small plate of crème cookies, then placed the tray down on a small table. Finishing with her boots, Kyoko nodded to her, and then ambled over. Hot tea steamed from one of the cups, so she took that one and a cookie from a small plate. Homura poured some tea for herself, and then nodded at Kyoko.

"I see you have finally decided to rejoin us." She said, sitting down finally. Kyoko sipped her tea, then set it down. Leaning back into the sofa, Kyoko absently inspected her nails.

"Yeah, except why'd you stop the fight last night? I had that stupid newbie on the ropes." She said, helping herself to another cookie. Homura silently sipped her tea, her eyes closed. When she set the tray down, she opened them.

"You were going to kill her." She responded, the dullness of her stare sending a shiver up Kyoko's spine. Popping another cookie into her mouth, Kyoko shrugged.

"So what if I was? That idiot needed to be put in her place." Kyoko said, taking another sip of her tea. Homura sighed, the set her cup down.

"I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about Sayaka. You were going to attack her next, weren't you?" Homura asked, causing Kyoko to wince. She actually had been set on doing it, but Homura intervened. Sighing, she picked up another cookie and dipped it in her tea. Popping into her mouth, she shrugged.

"Okay, so I might have thought about it. Big deal. Besides, why is this girl so important anyway?" She asked. Homura barely registered the question, but tilted her head.

"None of your concern. Focus on recuperating, then leave. I have some tasks to complete and you're wasting my time. And one more thing." She replied, setting down the cup. "Don't attack her anymore. I will handle the rest of this situation." Without a word, she left, taking her school bag with her. Kyoko sighed, and then finished off the rest of cookies. She might as well get some rest, considering her current condition. Within, minutes, she fell asleep, putting aside any thoughts about attacking Akima again.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4- What do you want?  
_

Akima sat up, listening to her music. Sayaka still hadn't come back yet to check on her, and neither had Madoka. Normally this wouldn't have bothered her, but given the circumstances, she was pretty concerned. By now her arm had fully healed, and her teeth had grown back, signaling a full recovery. She should be out hunting, but lazing about for a bit sounded much more comfortable. Munching on some chips, she pulled out her cell phone to call the girls. She tried Madoka first and received no answer. Then she tried Sayaka, crossing her fingers.

Her finger was poised right above the call button when there came a soft knocking at the door. Akima stared at the phone, then the door, then back at the phone. Closing it, she pulled out her soul gem to get a sense of who was knocking. The aura given off by the gem was blue, so she exhaled in relief then opened the door.

Sayaka stood outside, her face wet with tears. Akima opened her mouth to say something, but Sayaka cut her off by brushing past her and heading to the bathroom. Once inside, she slammed the door closed and locked it, prompting Akima to follow after her. Approaching the bathroom, she knocked on it, then frowned when no answer came.

"Sayaka…what's up? Someone take your lunch money?" She asked, then chided herself for asking such a stupid question. Teenagers don't steal lunch money from people.

When Sayaka didn't respond, Akima started growing impatient. Pressing her ear to the door, she heard sobbing on the other end, and frowned. Finally throwing her hands up in aggravation, she searched around for the room keys and found the bathroom key. Shoving it into the lock, she turned the key and the door opened.

What she saw was Sayaka huddled under the shower, still in her uniform. Her hair was plastered in damp streaks on her face, while her head was pressed against her kneecaps. Akima sighed, then turned the water off. Draping a towel around Sayaka, she sat on the floor next to her. Sayaka finally reacted after a few seconds, pulling the towel tighter.

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on now?" Akima asked, taking a tone of sympathy. Sayaka exhaled, then nodded.

"I had my first regret for becoming a Puella Magi today." She said, wiping water from her eyes. Akima didn't know of this was actual water or tears but she focused on the problem at hand instead.

"What do you mean?"

"Hitomi is going to take away Kyosuke." Sayaka sobbed, the tears coming back. "And the worst thing is, part of me wishes I hadn't saved her. Part of me wishes I let her die with Madoka. I actually considered that it would have been better to let my friends die for the sake of one guy. I've failed Mami and now I'm failing Kyosuke! I'm a failure as a Puella Magi!" She continued to cry, prompting Akima to frown.

"Who is taking him away?" She asked, already feeling far too much sympathy for the girl.

"HITOMI! HITOMI IS STABBING ME IN THE BACK BY ADMITING SHE LOVES KYOSUKE. SHE KNOWS HOW I FEEL ABOUT HIM, AND YET SHE'S FORCING ME TO DECIDE. THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Sayaka shrieked, and then continued with her crying. Akima sighed, and then proceeded to poke Sayaka.

"You want a surefire way of clearing this up?" She asked. Sayaka looked at her funny, to which Akima produced her phone. "Call him and ask if he cares about you and would like to go out some time. If he says no, then you can come with me tonight on my first witch hunt. If he says yes, then you plan out your date tonight, but stay here. You can use a change of my clothes if you want; I have a washer and dryer for that wet uniform." Akima offered, passing the phone to Sayaka. The girl gingerly reached for it and took the phone, then got out of the shower and headed for her bag. Pulling out her own phone, she set Akima's down and dialed Kyosuke. Akima reached over and ruffled her hair, then retrieved her phone.

"Call me and let me know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a witch to kill." She said, spinning her keys around. Sayaka nodded and remained on the line. Akima smiled, and then exited the room, pulling out her soul gem.

* * *

Tonight's search led her to the docks where cargo was brought in from all over the country. Judging by the signal it was giving off, the soul gem placed the witch somewhere on one of the loading pylons, prompting Akima to take the stairs. Finally reaching the top, she spotted the barrier: a fragmented sphere of bluish-white energy greeted her, engulfing half of the platform it rested on. It hissed and crackled at her approach, prompting her to transform. Spinning in a circle, she felt her clothing ignite and burn off of her, only to be replaced by her uniform. Her gauntlets extended upwards from her wristbands, enclosing her forearms. Her great cleaver descended from above like a meteor and embedded itself in the ground. Yanking it out, she spun it first before resting it on her shoulder. Her headband materialized and formed her soul gem, completing the transformation. Gripping her great cleaver, she slashed the barrier open and entered.

Inside was a massive labyrinth that enclosed everything. Nothing was fully lit and came off in various shades of gray and black, the color having been drained from everything. Akima looked down and saw a pale halo of orange light surrounding her. She continued scanning for the witch, but was having terrible luck doing so.

And then she spotted her.

Elsa Maria was perched at the end of a wide swath of ground in front of Akima, the only thing standing behind her was a massive hand holding an even larger torch. A brilliant column of orange rose from it, culminating in a sun-like circle. Akima looked around for anything else, but was surprised when nothing greeted her. She took several cautious steps towards Elsa Maria and was almost within striking range when the ground exploded into a swarm of black tendrils. Various bestial heads appeared on the tentacles, each of them snapping their jaws at her.

"Ah….so those are your familiars." She quipped, smirking at their subtlety. All they needed to do was lure the prey in with a false sense of security, then shred them to pieces when they got too close. This prompted Akima to sigh as she summoned another sphere of light. She was unsure about killing this thing, but she'd come this far; no sense in backing out now. Flinging the sphere, she shielded her eyes from the blast. The ball struck the familiars and detonated, setting them on fire. They writhed and screamed in agony as the flames melted them away, leaving Akima clear for a run towards Elsa Maria. Sneering, she slashed at Elsa Maria, then looked on in shock as the familiars returned and sliced into her. They bit, ripped, and tore at her, trying to get her to stop her attacks. Blasting them off with another sphere of light, she landed in a crouch and surveyed her work. The familiars were gone again, but given that her first attack was ineffective, Akima sought to find a new method of attack. Then she remembered her beam attack from her previous fight with Kyoko. Smiling she charged up her palm, then flung it forward. The resulting attack emitted a thick beam of yellowish light that leaped towards Elsa Maria. Akima started to cheer, then stopped the minute another mass of tendrils barricaded themselves in front of the beam. Beam disintegrated the second it touched the barrier, and the familiars split again, causing Akima to scowl.

"Fine, we'll do it the hard way." She barked, using her cleaver to catapult her into the air. Halting at just the right altitude, she descended, the cleaver held behind her for a downward slash. Roaring at the top of her lungs, she swung it in a downward arc, but her roar turned into a panicked cry as a thick tree branch extended from Elsa Maria, then caught her. Without pause, the branch continued to grow, carrying her back and away from the witch, before flinging her into the ground. The impact sent her sprawling while great cleaver fell off the walkway. The resulting pain from her fall overwhelmed her. She felt warmth in her mouth, and tasted the salty tang of blood. Getting up, she held out her hand and summoned her great cleaver, holding it in front of her. It was clear this fight was taking its toll on her, for her breath was coming out in ragged gasps, and she was leaning on her blade for support. Snarling, she flung another beam at Elsa Maria and waited for the barrier to appear, dashing forward as she counted down. When it did, she swung her blade and sliced off the Familiars, then flung a light sphere. Blocking her vision once more, she waited for the detonation to go off before leaping through the air one last time, descending with a slash from her great cleaver. The action chopped the witch in two, but it coalesced into a puddle and struck at her once more. Their jaws tore a jagged gash into her arms, forcing her to bite down on her pain. Swinging the blade once more, she brought it down with a heavy down stroke, crushing the witch in the process. All around her the world began to crack and fragment, large pieces of it breaking away to reveal the night sky. Gasping for air, Akima collapsed to the ground. Her chest was on fire as her lungs desperately fought for air. A tinkling noise sounded as a grief seed descended to the ground in front of her. Grabbing it, she transformed again, tucking her uniform away into her soul gem. Her clothing bore the marks where the tentacles attacked her, especially the gashes that were now seeping blood. Her hair was a tangled mess and was plastered to her head. Her body was screaming in agony, but she took comfort in one thing; she was alive.

Touching the grief seed to her soul gem, she purified it, then spotted Kyubey approach her.

"Not bad for your first witch! Especially since this was one of the stronger ones." He said, gulping down the spent Grief Seed.

"Yeah….except,….where can I find more in the future?" she asked, panting. Kyubey sat down ,then looked at her in confusion.

"I don't know to be honest, but you should ask one of the others!" he said. Just mentioning that prompted Akima to pull out her phone to dial up Sayaka. She turned around to head back, then stopped by the sight that greeted her.

Homura stood there, eyes devoid of emotion, and was pointing a gun at her.

"_Hello?"_ Sayaka's voice asked on the other end, but Akima didn't answer; she was too confused by this turn of events to respond.

"Homu-" She tried, but Homura never gave her a chance.

_BANG._

* * *

With a loud _klunk_, Sayaka dropped her phone. There was no mistake about it; she heard Homura's name, then a gunshot being fired. The phone stared back at her in silence as she collapsed to the ground, her hands shaking from terror.

_Homura….killed her?_ She thought as the call ended. Sayaka held herself as she tried to piece together everything, but her brain didn't want to function. That was definitely Akima's voice, and this was definitely her number. Even if there was someone called "Homu", there was no other explanation for it other than Homura being there. And since Homura favored pistols and other firearms, there was no mistaking what happened.

Homura Akemi had just murdered Akima in cold blood, and here Sayaka was about to relay to her the good news. She could feel her eyes sting as tears started welling up. In her mind, she was desperately screaming no, but that was diminished by the loud "YES" that screamed back.  
_It's not fair! Akima just became a magical girl! She was going to replace Mami. A-a-and she helped me with Kyosuke! She can't'…she just can't die! THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE!_

She wanted to stay here and weep, but the warrior in her didn't. It called for blood. A thousand fingers dug into head, clawing for her to find out. She needed to know, she had to know.

She must know.

Getting up, she ran out of Mami's apartment, determined to get answers.

* * *

Homura watched as Akima's headless corpse collapsed to the ground. Checking her pistol, she ejected the magazine of High-explosive rounds from it and slapped in standard rounds. Kyoko approached from behind, munching on a popsicle.

"Is that it? I was expecting more." She said, watching as the body sat there. Homura looked down at her pistol, then at the body, then gasped.

The blood was receding back into the body. A hand pressed itself to the concrete and steadied the body as a globe of light emerged from her neck. The light brightened, forcing Homura to shield her eyes. When she lowered her arm, Akima's head had reformed, devoid of all wounds and blood. The rest of her body shimmered as her wounds re-knit themselves together. Kyoko dropped her popsicle and stared in confusion.

This wasn't happening. Homura had just blown her head off, and here she was resurrecting it. The shimmering stopped and Akima exhaled, and then opened her eyes. There was one problem with them; they were wide with shock.

"You…..you shot me." She said, trembling.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 –Why do you care?

Thunder boomed in the night sky as clouds rolled in. Akima stared at Homura, who's eyes showed the tell-tales signs of confusion.

"You should be dead." She finally said, flipping hair behind her. "The fact that you're still here confuses me." Kyoko looked from Homura to Akima in surprise, then down at Kyubey. During the shooting, he had somehow appeared, and was watching Akima intently.

"That was unexpected! But not improbable, given the nature of your wish." Kyubey said, sitting down next to Kyoko. Homura merely looked over at him before stuffing her pistol inside her shield.

"I don't understand; what do you mean, 'improbable?' MY HEAD WAS JUST BLOWN OFF AND THEN REGREW ITSELF! HOW IS THAT IMPROBABLE?!" Akima asked, her voice rising. Her entire body was still shaking, and she looked on the verge of collapsing.

"You don't get it? Your wish was for you not to die. So, it makes sense that this applies to both your human form and your Puella Magi form. You can take as rough a beating as you want, but you'll never die. Your body may become severely damaged in the process, but you could still fight! And automatically applies to you human form, just so long as your Soul Gem remains intact. In fact as long as any Puella Magi's Soul Gem is intact, their human body can get ripped to shreds and they'd still exist! This has its benefits, doesn't it?" he said joyfully, clearly not appreciating Akima's distress.

_ I can't die? But that's not possible_, She thought as she collapsed to her knees. If a head shot couldn't kill her, nothing could. There was one problem though; that was no way to live. It was disgusting, revolting, horrifying, and disturbing. She held her head in agony, her eyes still wide with shock. She started to feel numb all over, as if someone was slowly chopping off her limbs.

"There's one disadvantage however. The more grievous the injury, the more your soul gem will corrupt itself. You'll need to be careful though. Not to mention your light abilities are very blinding. You might even blind yourself on accident!" Kyubey said, scratching his ear. He closed his eyes in an adorable manner and tilted his head, but the nature of the situation was anything but adorable.

Akima ignored this as she sat there, coming to one shocking revelation.

She was, for lack of a better word, a zombie.

* * *

Sayaka ran through the streets, desperate to find Akima as soon as possible. It was bad enough that Akima had gone out hunting on her behalf, but even worse now that Homura was involved and had shot her. Following the trail her soul gem was leading her on, she gasped when it glowed fiercely. That meant either a witch was nearby or another magical girl was in the area. Given the events of tonight, she concluded it was the latter, and decided to follow it. Around her, houses and apartments gave way to warehouses and refineries, until finally she could smell the polluted river in the distance. She caught sight of two figures leaping away from one of the cargo pylons. Seeing that the glow hadn't dimmed, Sayaka raced towards the pylon, barreling up the stairs as she went. The climb itself took a few minutes, but finally she reached the platform at the top. On the far edge, Akima sat facing the river. At first, Sayaka was overcome with relief, but then something seemed to be off. Akima hadn't bothered to speak or even acknowledge that Sayaka was nearby. Taking a step forward, Sayaka waited for her to respond again. When she didn't, Sayaka finally closed the distance and poked her. Akima bristled, but that was it.

"Hey,….anyone home?" Sayaka asked, poking her again. Akima slowly turned around, the shock of her revelation evident on her face. Sayaka recoiled. "Oh god,...what happened?" When Akima didn't answer, Sayaka slowly sat down.

"Do you want to leave?" she finally asked, breaking the long silence that had descended. Akima twitched slightly and nodded her head. Sayaka stood up and offered a hand, putting on a smile for Akima's sake. When the other girl took it, she pulled her up and started guiding her back to the trains.

Homura watched as Sayaka escorted Akima out of the area. Behind her came the audible snap of Kyoko chomping on a pocky stick. Ignoring her loud snacking, Homura continued spying on the two before they disappeared. Turning back to Kyoko, she sat down on the roof they were occupying.

"Well? What are we doing? We found out she can't be killed, Sayaka is sticking to her like an adopted dog, and we're running out of witches to kill." She said, scarfing down another pocky stick. Homura nodded, then stood up.

"Agreed. If they continue such a close relationship with each other, we could have a problem on our hands." She said, not bothering to respond to Kyoko's look of confusion.

"Huh?" Kyoko asked, checking the box one last time before scowling at it being empty. She looked up to try and pry further, but was gone with a flip of her hair. Kyoko scowled, then gave up the questioning. FOr the time being, she'd play it cool and keep her distance, but clearly Akima had become shell-shocked from the shooting. Right now, fighting her wasn't an option, and Kyoko was starting to consider approaching her to call for peace

Maybe tomorrow she'd go check on her as well.

* * *

Sayaka draped a blanket over Akima, who had wordlessly climbed onto the sofa. Pulling the blanket closer around herself, Akima shifted away from Sayaka. Behind them, Madoka emitted a small sigh and leaned into Sayaka. Sayaka motioned that the two of them should leave for now and led Madoka out.

"Should we go to your place now?" Madoka asked, fidgeting nervously, but Sayaka shook her head. Even though she was one floor up, they needed to talk in private. Pointing to the elevator, Sayaka took Madoka by the hand to lead her along. Protesting slightly, Madoka eventually complied with her and followed after her. Once they were outside the building's front, Sayaka sat down on one of the planters. Madoka looked at her before doing the same, straightening her skirt.

"Homura shot her today." Sayaka finally said, her voice tainted with disgust. "Can you believe that?! She just shot her!"

Madoka looked down, taking this new information in. She had been trying to believe Homura was a good person, but hearing this shocked her. She shivered as the wind picked up slightly and turned towards Sayaka.

"So…then why is Akima like this? Why isn't she talking?" she asked, wringing her hands with worry. Sayaka threw up her hands.

"I dunno, but she's really freaking me out. Maybe the place where she got shot was somewhere sensitive?" Sayaka replied, shaking her head the second she was finished. "No. It couldn't just be that. Maybe something else happened."

Madoka looked down and sniffed. She was still coming to grips with the fact that Homura had shot someone. THis felt wrong; Homura had been slightly cold to her before, but this was different. She could never see Homura viciously shooting people like this. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she jumped when Sayaka poked her.

"You should head home. It's getting pretty late you know, and don't worry, I'll check on her before I head home. I'm one floor up from her remember?" She said, smiling. This brightened Madoka's attitude, for she also smiled and hugged Sayaka. Returning the hug, Sayaka released her before skipping back to the apartment building, leaving Madoka to start her trip home.

On the other side of the street, Kyoko watched from the shadows. She had followed the two discreetly from the docks, and was surprised to see Madoka join them outside of the building. This meant Akima was in there somewhere and so was Sayaka. Kyoko watched carefully as Madoka disappeared from view and stepped onto the walkway. Staring intently at the building, she could feel the familiar tingle of another magical nearby, except this was increased by the presence of another. Huffing in annoyance, she turned away, heading down the street. If Homura wanted to continue this game of hers, fine. As far as Kyoko was concerned, this rivalry between her, Akima, and Sayaka was starting to taste sour. Still, she'd definitely check up on Akima tomorrow.

Maybe she could see about the two of them having lunch.

* * *

Akima laid on the sofa, her face devoid of any emotion. It wasn't until she heard her watch beep as it recorded the hour that she finally realized where she was. This only made her curl up tighter, as random thoughts ran through her head. Was she alive? Was she dead? Why didn't Kyubey tell her this? How was she getting home? And why couldn't she reach her friends?

A soft knock came from the door, breaking her inner brooding. She pulled the covers tighter around her and remained where she was. The knock came again, but she still refused to get up. There was a dull thud and a scraping noise from the other side of the wall.

_Hey. I um…..listen…I just wanted to check on you_ Sayaka's voice intoned, filtering itself through Akima's mind. She pulled her head under the blanket and refused to get up.

_Just leave. You shouldn't care for a zombie_ Akima replied, trying to throw up a mental wall between them. Apparently she wasn't as strong as she realized, for Sayaka broke through the wall to talk to her again.

_A what? Whoa, you're pretty shaken up. Look. I know we have our differences: I don't like you, but you like me. In fact you've helped me get over some of my greatest fears with Kyosuke. So I guess I can't exactly hate you so….truce?_ Sayaka asked, her message clouded in doubt. Akima shifted on the sofa and sat up.

_A truce?_

_Yeah. I mean. Why not?_

Akima got up and opened her door. Sayaka smiled and stood up, but gasped when Akima hugged her. The hug lasted for a little over 3 minutes, and Sayaka still looked shocked as Akima released her.

"What?" She asked, prodding the younger girl. Sayaka shook her head and grinned sheepishly.

"N-n-n-nothing! I um… I was just,..well you know. Surprised." Sayaka replied. Akima narrowed her eyes, but shrugged. Stepping aside, she allowed Sayaka to enter. This confused Sayaka and caused her to hesitate.

"What? I want to make you something, to make up for me being a brick these past few hours." Akima replied. Sayaka looked at her funny. "I can cook you know. I mean, since my one passion in life is food, then it makes sense that the second one is how to cook food. So what say we go inside, and find out what we're making. Sound good?" She said, prompting Sayaka to nod and follow her inside.

"Sayaka?" Akima wheezed, groaning with effort.

"Yeah?" Sayaka replied, trying to move as little as possible.

"Remind me never to cook that much ever again. Or at least invite more over." Akima gasped, undoing the button on her pants. After much consideration, Akima had settled on making some late-night sukiyaki, but considering there was only 2 of them, there had been plenty to go around. Sayaka had given up by her third serving, and Akima had been taken out by her fifth. Moaning in pain, she rolled onto her side. Sayaka had the easier time of it and sat up.

"Yeah,…..but it was pretty good." She said, licking her lips. Akima laughed, but winced.

"It's my dad's recipe. He's from Osaka originally, which kind of makes it sad that I don't have tallow. Oh well." She said, rubbing her stomach. Sayaka nodded, then carefully made her way to the door.

"Oh and one more thing." Akima said, halting her. Sayaka turned slightly to look at her. Akima let a smile drift onto her lips.

"Thanks….for caring." Akima whispered, before laying back down to sleep. Sayaka nodded, then locked the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6-What should we do?_

Akima awoke to someone humming. At first she thought someone had broken into her room, but the sound was more in her mind than from her room. Getting up, she headed to the window and drew back the curtains. Two stories below, Kyoko sat on one of the planters and waved at her.

_Come down. We need to talk about things._

_ Go to hell. You let Homura shoot me last night._

_ Hey! How was I supposed to know she was going to do that? At least give me the benefit of the doubt here!_

Kyoko did have a point: Akima had no way of telling if the two of them had been in collusion with each other, even if they had confronted her together. Sighing, she decided she would go down and greet Kyoko, after showering of course. Jumping into the shower, she had to tell herself this was actual water she was feeling, and not to focus on it being nerve stimulation. She still had to cope with Kyubey's revelation from last night, though the late night dinner was helping. She was still trying to hold it together though.

Satisfied, she stepped out of the shower and changed into a different set of clothing. This time she had a grey t-shirt that hung loosely around her waist, a plaid skirt, black stockings, and her leather jacket. As usual, her boots became her choice of footwear, and once she had laced them up, she headed down to meet with Kyoko. Already the red-headed girl was smiling when she appeared.

"Hey there! Look, no hard feelings about before okay? I feel kinda bad for putting you in your current situation, so….how about we go grab lunch or something? Think of it as an apology." Kyoko asked, revealing her snaggletooth. To Akima however it looked more like a fang, and added to Kyoko's cuteness.

Not that Akima was interested in her, but she did like the fang.

"All right, but no funny business." She snapped. Kyoko sighed and led the way. Hopefully food would ease the tension.

* * *

After getting off downtown, Kyoko selected a local café and led Akima there. Sandwiched between two buildings, the cafe itself was a small diner that shined of polished chrome and red paint. Stepping inside, Akima was greeted with a typical replica of the 1950's: waitresses sped by on roller-skates, a jukebox occupied a corner, and the milkshakes were served in tall glasses. Already she was savoring the scent of fried onions, the sound of sizzling meat, and the smell of linoleum. It reminded her of home, almost. Licking her lips she basked in the army of aromas assaulting her senses, letting them overwhelm her.

Kyoko's cough pulled Akima out of her nostalgia, and she dragged her to a table. Sitting down, she watched Kyoko absently flip through the menu before tossing it to her. She perused it herself, but settled on a strawberry milkshake in the end. The waitress grabbed their menus and scuttled away, leaving the two alone. An awkward pause settled between the two before the waitress brought their orders. Apparently Kyoko had literally meant lunch, for she had ordered a cheeseburger and fries. At once, she attacked it with a vicious fervor that reminded Akima of her own appetite.

Akima had to give the girl credit: she had an appetite to rival her own.

"So, you pulled me away for lunch. What now?" Akima asked, staring at Kyoko from behind her glass. Kyoko popped a few fries into her mouth and gulped them down before giving her a look. Wiping her mouth, she stared at Akima and nodded.

"To put it bluntly, I'm calling a truce. Like I said, I wasn't expecting Homura to shoot you last night, so I'm starting to rethink our relationship." She replied, picking up her burger. Akima snorted and grabbed a spoonful of her milkshake and slurped it up.

"Funny, it almost sounds like this is a date." She quipped, grinning mischievously at Kyoko. Kyoko scoffed, then dismissed it with the wave of a fry.

"Please, I'm not that desperate." She retorted, offering her own grin. Akima felt her face flush with warmth and she glared.

"All right, fine. Flirting aside, what else are we discussing here?" She started, sipping her milkshake.

"How'd you get here anyway?" Kyoko asked, taking a bite of her burger. Akima sat back and slid her shake to the side.

"To be honest, I don't know. I just woke up and found myself here. Then one thing led to another and here we are eating." She said, looking at the menu. Signaling a waitress, she ordered a chicken sandwich, and smiled when she took the menu away. "I'll be honest, the shooting last night has me a little,…well..off." Akima replied, staring into her glass.

"How so?" Kyoko asked, putting her burger down. Akima gave her a wilting glare and Kyoko flinched.

_I had my head blown off. How badly would you think that could affect someone?_

_ I see your point._

"Okay. Actu-" Kyoko started, but was interrupted when the waitress returned with Akima's sandwich. She let the other girl get a bite in, watching the calming look on her face as she savored her food. Coughing, Kyoko dragged Akima back to the present. "Actually, there was one thing I came here to discuss with you. I suggest you sever ties with Sayaka and leave. I've been watching you two get along, and I think it's in her best interest to see you leave, besides the city's crowded enough as is. Too many Puella Magi means not enough Grief Seeds to go around. And Homura's getting pretty defensive about your interactions with Madoka too. I don't' know why, but if she's willing to shoot you over it, then it's pretty bad. So either head somewhere else or go back to America." Kyoko ordered, giving Akima her most threatening glare. Pulling out a box of pocky, she stuck one in her mouth before placing the box down on the table. Akima merely chuckled, then leveled her own glare at Kyoko.

"Pfft. And why would I do that? And what makes you think I'm American? What, you think because I dress like some cliché punk girl that I'm fitting the stereotype? I'm from Ireland you moron, I just didn't live there long enough to pick up the accent. So no, I think I'll stay, and you can relay that back to Homura." Akima scoffed, tearing another chunk out of her sandwich. Gulping it down, she drank some more of her milkshake and grinned at Kyoko's reaction.

If infuriated needed a poster child, Kyoko fit the bill. Her eyes were wide with rage and she ground her teeth together. In her fist, the pocky box was crushed with an audible crack; clearly its contents had been shattered. Her lips quivered, then pulled themselves back into a snarl. not to mention her posture crumpled in upon itself, as if she were about to pounce. But she relaxed and composed herself. Her anger was still evident however.

_You know, I wanted us to come to an agreement here. I actually want a truce, but it seems you won't take a hint. So I'm warning you, get lost while you still have legs. You refuse me one more time, I'm sending you home in pieces._

_ Don't you remember? I can take as heavy a beating as I want and still be able to fight. And if I make you so mad, let's go. I saw a nice clean alley way we can finish our fight from the other night._

Kyoko was about to respond when the waitress returned.

"Will that be all girls?" she asked, her words coated with sugar. Akima smiled politely, then nodded to Kyoko.

"Oh yes, in fact my friend here has agreed to pay for everything." Akima replied sweetly, injecting as much poisoned honey as she could into each syllable. Kyoko opened her mouth in shock as the waitress bowed.

"Of course! I'll go fetch the bill then, and I hope you had a rockin' time!" She chirped before scooting away on her skates. Akima wiped her mouth then grabbed her sandwich, leaving Kyoko her fries.

"Thanks for the lunch, it gave me the nourishment I needed." She sneered, patting Kyoko on the head before walking out. Kyoko gave her a smile, before snarling, already reaching for her soul gem.

_Not here sweetie, someone might be watching. if you're still intent on breaking my legs, you know where to look. Now, if you so badly want a truce, I suggest you piss off. I won't be so diplomatic the next time we meet._ Akima spat over their mind-link. She blocked out Kyoko's screaming and grinned to herself. If Kyoko was going to react the way she thought she was, then a fight was bound to happen soon. If so, then she'd probably postpone her talk that she'd been planning to have with Sayaka later. Pulling out her phone, she started to look up Sayaka's number before an image caught her attention.

She had signal, and a very strong one at that.

Smiling, she called her mother and let the dial tone ring. She became concerned when the dial tone kept ringing, then the ring cut abruptly. She opened her mouth to speak but the voice on the other end cut her off.

"I'm sorry, the number you have entered cannot be completed as dialed. Either you have dialed the wrong number, or this number is not registered, please try again." The automated message spat back at her. Staring at her phone in shock, she dialed her mother again and received the same response. So she dialed her father, and was equally shocked by the same message being played. She dialed each of her friends and received the same, taunting message. Which left her with one conclusion: they did not exist. If they didn't exist, then the people holding those numbers also didn't exist, and if they didn't exist then how did she get here? She knew that Sayaka's number worked and Madoka's number, but that was it.

"Why does this feel like some cheap sci-fi movie where someone gets sent to an alternate reality?" She asked out loud, but just saying so triggered the same line of questioning in her head. What if she was in an alternate dimension, and she didn't realize it until now? Just thinking this sent a chill through her body, not to mention it reminded her of what had been revealed to her last night. Collapsing to her knees, she clutched her head in agony at her current situation and stared blankly at the ground.

She actually was in an alternate reality, and had no way of getting home. No way of getting back to her friends, her family, her cat, in fact no way of getting back to anything considered "normal". She was stuck in this horror of a world and it's witches, magical girls, and strange furry animals that contracted with you. There was no way she could escape this, especially if she was no longer human. Once again, the pain and sorrow she felt after having the truth revealed to her flooded back into her mind, forcing her to collapse to the ground and cry.

Not only was she a zombie, but she couldn't get home. So she was doomed to walk this world forever.

It took her 10 minutes to gather herself before she finally stood up. A grim determination reflected in her eyes, their crimson irises aglow with renewed purpose. In her mind, if she truly was in an alternate reality, then there was only one thing she could do.

Find Homura, and get some answers, then possibly put an end to this despicable life she'd been thrown into.

* * *

Homura had been following Kyoko and Akima since they left the apartment, and wasn't surprised to see only one of them leaving. Judging by their conversation they had, they still weren't cooperating. She was equally surprised that Akima left first, and then Kyoko storming out 5 minutes later. Shaking her head, Homura followed Akima over the rooftops, taking care not to be seen or heard.

It would seem she had no other option: she would need to eliminate Akima once and for all. Already the girl had created far too many variables that could affect Madoka's chances of contracting, not to mention the heavy influence she had on Sayaka it seemed. She could neither allow this to continue, nor allow the same influence to spread to Madoka. What intrigued her the most was the girl's sudden frustration, then fear when her phone didn't seem to produce the results she wanted. Either something was wrong, or another shock had gone through her system. Homura let Akima get her bearings again before following her, choosing her moment to confront Akima.

It wasn't until she ducked into a side alley that Homura dropped down to greet her.

"So, you've been following me this entire time." Akima observed, folding her arms. "I'm not surprised; you've been everywhere I don't want you to be lately it seems."

"The same could be said of you as well. I had not foreseen your involvement up until now. That being said, you've done enough to this world and to Madoka. I can no longer permit you to carry on; it's time to end you and your relationship with Madoka and Sayaka." Homura countered, her eyes reflecting cold certainty. "Not here, and not now. This evening at the train station. It shall be there that we put an end to this." Homura ordered, prompting Akima to put her Soul Gem away.

"Fine with me. I think I'll go kill a witch first so I can be at full streng-" Akima started, but was cut off as Homura flung her a spare Grief Seed. Catching it, she stared at it then back to Homura, who merely nodded. Taking the Seed, Akima cleansed her Soul Gem before putting it away.  
When she looked up, Homura had departed, leaving nothing but the wind in her wake. Grinding her teeth in irritation, Akima narrowed her eyes at the girl's rudeness. Then again if she was willing to blow someone's head off, Akima shouldn't be surprised that Homura treated others as less than human. Pulling up a map on her phone, she plotted a route to the train station, and then shut her phone off.

It looked like she wouldn't get to have her talk with Sayaka after all.

* * *

Madoka walked behind Sayaka as the two headed home. They had decided on leaving from school right away to first check on Akima, and to let Sayaka get ready for her date tonight with Kyosuke. So if anything, Sayaka had a better reason to be happy than she did. As they approached the apartment building, Madoka was surprised by the lack of energy she usually felt when Akima was nearby. This surprised her given that Kyubey had permitted her the ability to sense other magical girls, even if she hadn't contracted yet. Regardless, this worried her and her fears only increased when Sayaka's look of joy turned to doubt and worry.

_I can't sense her. Do you think she might have left somewhere? And I thought you said that she had been pretty down, even after the meal last night._ Madoka asked, falling into step next to Sayaka. When Sayaka shook her head, Madoka started to fear the worst. _You don't think that the othe-_

_ I hope not. As much as I hate to do this, I may need to put off the date tonight until we find her._ Sayak responded. Walking up to the front, she buzzed Madoka through but stayed outside. _Stay here and check the room, I'll go look for her._ Without another word, she took off into the afternoon sun, heading the opposite direction that they came. Madoka nodded fearfully and crossed the threshold. The intendant smiled at her in greeting which she returned, but her growing anxiety was forcing her to keep the greeting short. Running to the elevator, she took it to Akima's floor and entered the hall, racing to her room. She wasn't surprised by it being closed, but the note attached to the front instantly caught her eye. Ripping it off, she stared at it, unaware that Kyubey had emerged from the shadows. Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the scrap of paper, and refused to hold it still. Her heart sank when she read the message.

_Hey Sayaka, I'm gonna be heading out because Kyoko dropped by. Just in case, call me when you get this because I might need back up again. Oh, and we need to talk about how the date went afterwards. Bye!_

_-Akima_

Madoka gasped and pulled out her phone, spinning around to head back to the elevator. She had just finished dialing Sayaka when she noticed Kyubey blocking her path.

"You might not want to go." He said, deadpanning his voice. Gripping her phone, Madoka fought off her overwhelming panic and struggled to piece together why he had said that. "It may end as badly as it did the other night."

"How can you just stand by and let them fight each other?" Madoka demanded, her voice cracking. Kyubey shook his head at this and approached her.

"I already told you, there's nothing I can do about it. If they wish to fight, then I can't stop them. But you can, all you need to do is contract with me, and you'll have the power to stop the fighting. Perhaps you become stronger than all of them!" he chirped, sitting down in front of her. Madoka thought about this, then shook her head.

"No. I can still try to reason with them. They shouldn't be fighting if their only enemies are the witches!" Madoka spoke as she took off towards the elevator. Watching her go, Kyubey shook his head.

_This girl is proving a lot harder to contract with than I predicted._ He thought to himself as he scampered back into the shadows.

* * *

Dusk had fallen on Mitakihara as Akima leaned against a support column. The train station was starting to empty as the evening rush gave way to the night life. That being said, it was definitely less crowded than before. Thankful that no one was going to stick around, Akima stepped away from the column and headed deeper into the station. People ignored her as she brushed them aside, some not even bothering to register the collision. Surprised at the lack of awareness people had, Akima continued working against the flow, that is until a hand grabbed her. Whirling around, she was shocked to see Sayaka standing behind her, a look of anger on her face.

"So, you weren't even going to call me. You just left a note and expected me to not worry?" She murmured, the concern in her voice evaporating into sorrow as she closed the distance between the two. Feeling a stabbing pain in her chest, Akima nodded. She was starting to feel some regret over doing this to Sayaka, but she had agreed to a battle, and there was no backing out now.

"It was either that or have you get involved from the beginning. I can't have you becoming injured on my behalf; what kind of senpai would I be if I did that? And before you say no, I know when someone thinks highly of another, and I've been getting that vibe from you a lot lately." She said, adding a chuckle to ease Sayaka's worry. Unfortunately, the younger girl wasn't buying it and shook her head.

"It's more than that. You're not just my senpai anymore. I mean, I hated you in the a couple days, thinking you were some creepy stalker. But then you saved my life and almost lost your own. Then you came and backed me up two days ago. I should still hate you for doing things for me when I could have done them myself, but now? Now, I see you as my friend." She said, looking down and balling her fists. Her eyes stung with tears as she struggled to continue. "I mean, we don't always see eye to eye on things, but that doesn't matter anymore. You think this is probably stupid of me to say, but I watch out for my friends. It's the job of an Ally of Justice, right?" Sayaka asked, looking up at her. Akima grinned and ruffled her hair, causing Sayaka to giggle.

"Still referring to yourself as that stupid title huh? Man you're an idiot." she said, pulling Sayaka in for a hug. "I was wrong too, you know? I thought you were some snot-nosed brat who kept holding onto some convoluted image of a hero. And you still are, but you're my kind of brat. Kinda like me when I was younger." Akima quipped, letting Sayaka go. Doing so finally let her see Sayaka for her actual height. Sayaka was almost as tall as she was; her eyes were almost level with Akima's nose. And from this view, she could see the tears welling up. Smiling, Akima pulled her close one last time.

"I gotta go take care of something, but promise me one thing: don't ever doubt yourself. I am right now and it's ripping me to pieces. So always be confident in your abilities." She whispered, planting a light kiss on Sayaka's ear. "Always remember that." And without a word, she let Sayaka go. By the time she had reached the end of the mezzanine, Sayaka had finally snapped out of her shock, collapsing to her knees in a fit of sobbing.

Akima sighed and shook her head. She hadn't given the best of good-byes, but it was good enough for her. It was a shame though; she finally made a new friend, and she had to leave her behind. Being a Magical Girl was really starting to turn out to be a shitty job.

Feeling a sudden warmth of her ring, Akima followed the warmth to its source. Cresting a flight of stairs and was greeted with an empty platform, and one other occupant.

Kyoko.

Not exactly surprised that once again, Homura was acting through proxy, Akima continued forward.

"Let me guess, she conned you into fighting for her, didn't she?" Akima taunted, sneering at Kyoko. The other girl shook her head and bit into an apple.

"No. I was just told to be here at an appointed time. Besides, Homura's not too far away." Kyoko said, pointing at the roof of the platform. Looking up, Akima spotted Homura perched on one of the struts. Glaring, she returned her gaze to Kyoko who had finished her apple.

"So…..we gonna kill each other or what?" Kyoko demanded, summoning her soul gem. In a radiant flash, she transformed and whirled her spear around. Akima nodded and transformed, resting her cleaver on the ground once it was over.

"Just don't keep me bored like last time." Akima sneered before dashing forward.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7-Why can't you understand?_

Metal clashed with metal, boots scraped along the ground, and cries of pain cut through the darkness as both girls fought. Kyoko still had the advantage of knowing her weapon a lot better than Akima knew her own, so the battle was becoming one-sided. Still, Akima was getting used to the fact that she could heal her wounds, just not as quickly as she would have liked. Already she had sustained multiple injuries: two broken ribs, a fractured thumb, a gash to the head, and a sprained ankle, and none of them were healing fast enough. Kyoko, on the other hand, had suffered a nasty slash to her face, leaving a gaping wound that cut from her nose into her right eye and beyond. Other than that, she sported a bruised shoulder, several gashes in her torso, and a clean slice across her abdomen.

And still both girls were fighting.

By now Sayaka had found where they were battling. Surprisingly, she had met up with Madoka and had brought her along. Homura watched them carefully and noticed that Kyubey had also appeared. What his reasons were, she did not know, but she had to assume he still intended to contract Madoka. Turning her attention back to the fight, Homura crossed her legs and continued observing.

Kyoko spun her whip in a snapping motion, causing Akima to duck under it. Spinning forward, she smashed her heel into Kyoko's nose, momentarily stunning her. Propelling herself backwards, she flung her whip again, causing Akima to dodge. Feeling the blood roar in her ears as her frustration mounted, Kyoko was starting to look for any opportunity to put this girl down. She had learned from her mistakes from the last battle and wasn't getting too close, preferring her whip over her spear, but Akima had learned as well. Every time she tried to snare the other girl, Akima would dodge to the side or duck under the attack, then follow up with an attack of her own. Still, Kyoko was getting the hang of dodging Akima's cleaver, though the gash on her face was indication that she had judged poorly in the fight. She thrust her spear forward, glancing off of Akima's exposed shoulder. With a spray of red, the spear found it's mark and Akima cried out in pain. Smiling, Kyoko spun the spear and stopped it in a downward position.

"Give…up." She panted, breaking the fighting for now. As stupid as this girl was, Kyoko wasn't going to kill her just yet. Maybe appealing to her again would get her to back down. Unfortunately, Akima shook her head and snarled.

"No. We….didn't stop last time. So why should,..ow, why should we stop now?" She spat, gripping her shoulder. Kyoko shook her head and snapped the whip at her again, smashing the spearhead into the platform. Cart wheeling to the side, Akima rushed Kyoko and swung at her. Just barely getting the spear up in time Kyoko blocked the attack, but tremor of the impact was sent into her arms. Gritting her teeth in pain, Kyoko held on and pushed Akima away from her, then jumped backwards to get clear.

Sayaka clenched her fists as the battle continued. She wanted to help, but something kept telling her this was Akima's fight. Every fiber of her body was screaming to get involved, but she couldn't summon the will to move into action. So she sat there, clutching Madoka's hand as they both watched the battle unfold. She winced every time Akima suffered a strike from Kyoko, and silently cheered when she returned the favor.

_C'mon. You got this. I know you can beat her_ Sayaka thought, sending this to Akima. If the girl responded or was ignoring her, she couldn't tell, so all she could do was watch.

"Sayaka, you have to make them stop. Just like before, they're on the same side. Please, they're supposed to hunt witches together!" Madoka begged, the panic evident in her voice. Gritting her teeth, Sayaka struggled to fight her overwhelming sense of doing what was right. She go now and help, but that would anger both Akima and Kyoko, and it was the former she was more worried about. On the other hand, Madoka could contract and together they could stop them.

Yes, it was perfect. Sayaka could use the extra back up for this.

Spinning around, Sayaka opened her mouth, but stopped when Homura jumped down, pistol already drawn.

"No. I already know what you're about to say and the answer is no." She barked, aiming the pistol at Sayaka. Eyes wide with fear, Sayaka stepped in front of Madoka and put up a hand defensively. Homura shook her head and faced the battle, then took aim. A single shot rang out in the empty platform as both girls stopped moving. While neither was hurt, they both did a once over of each other to see if either one had been shot, but gasped in surprise upon discovering Homura had fired at a trash can instead. Turning to her, they both fixed Homura with a dirty look.

"We should be working together instead of fighting." Homura said, hoping that this would quiet any desire Madoka had of contracting. Akima slammed her blade into the ground.

"What? Now you decide that we need to stop fighting? Screw you!" She said, pulling blade out of the concrete. Homura only stared back.

"I don't have to explain my reasons why. However with the Walpurgisnacht occurring soon, I feel that it is in our best interests of survival for the four of us to band together." She said with an unsettling calm. Kyoko flinched while Akima gripped her blade harder.

"And just what prompted this change of heart? Afraid I was going to kick your ass later?" She snapped, prompting Homura to shake her head.

"Your involvement until now has been extremely disastrous to my planning. This conflicted with my original wish to cooperate with you. However, a different path occurred to me prior to the fight, which is why I asked for Kyoko to fight instead. If you work with me to end the Walpurgisnacht, then the two of us will duel to the death after it has been defeated. That is of course, if you're still so hell-bent on killing me, then I will gladly give you the death you demand." Homura replied, her eyes never shifting from the same shade of purple. Akima frowned under her mask, then nodded.

"Deal. We kill this Walpurg-whatever, and then I get to kick your ass afterwards." She exclaimed, shifting back into her human form. Homura nodded and looked at Kyoko.

"I trust that despite tonight's fight, you would be willing to cooperate as well?" Homura asked of her, prompting Kyoko to nod reluctantly.

"So long as her stupid-ass doesn't hog all the witches until then, sure." She quipped, also shedding her outfit for her regular clothing. She was still looking pretty banged up, but her wounds were starting to close themselves. Akima gave Kyoko a death glare before leaving, to which Kyoko responded by staring daggers into her back. Akima signaled for both Sayaka and Madoka to follow her, which Kyubey interpreted as a request for him to follow as well. He did look back at Homura before disappearing from view, and she could have sworn she had seen a look of joy in his eyes.

Something told her she might need to refocus her attention.

* * *

Akima walked in utter silence with the other two, her mind trying to grasp what had just transpired. Not only had Homura called the fight off, but she had proposed for them to work together. Something felt off about that, especially given her conviction earlier about killing Akima. So what was it that changed her mind all of a sudden? She wracked her brain to remember connections or coincidences, but nothing came to mind.

And then it hit her: Madoka. Homura had said something about Madoka being involved, but what though? And for that matter, why hadn't Madoka contracted yet? She looked like she wanted to join them, but she never did anything. And that was pissing Akima off. Perhaps it was nerves, or perhaps it was because of the fight. Either way, Akima was desperate to know what Madoka truly wanted.

They had been walking for what seemed like an hour before she finally spoke.

"Madoka, what do you truly want?" She asked. Madoka stopped a few inches from her and looked at her. Such a question confused her, so she looked down at her shoes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, edging closer to Akima.

"Do you want us to stop fighting? If so, do something about it." She whispered, causing Madoka to gasp.

"But I did-" she started, but Akima silenced her by turning around.

"Don't lie to me, I see it in your eyes. You want us to stop fighting, yet you're too scared to say or do anything." She snapped, causing Sayaka to react.

"Hey! What the hell's your problem? She hasn't done anything at all!" Sayaka barked, stepping in front of Madoka. Akima shook her head in disgust.

"That's just it though: she hasn't done anything at all. All she does is stand there and watch. What she should be doing is contracting already and getting in this fight. I don't know what this Walpurgis thing is, but the way Homura put it, just needing the four of us to destroy it sounds like it'll be a problem. So why hasn't Madoka contracted already and joined us?" Akima snarled, causing Kyubey to appear. Sayaka gritted her teeth and glared at her.

"Shut up! She's my friend and if she hasn't contracted yet then maybe she hasn't found the right reason to. Now get off her back!" She barked.

"You are such an idiot you know that?" Akima hissed, taking a step back. Sayaka choked on her reply and felt her eyes sting slightly.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're such an idiot. I guess I was wrong about you after all. How can you not be on my side with this? All she does is stand around and whine. Honestly I'm getting sick of it!" Akima snapped, prompting Sayaka to take a step back as well. There was something wrong with Akima: either the fight had rattled her or she was having a change of heart about this. But either way, Sayaka didn't appreciate her friend getting picked on.

"So how about it Madoka? You just gonna stand there and do nothing, or are you finally willing to become one of us?" Akima demanded, folding her arms. Madoka stuttered and bowed her head in shame. She wanted to join, but she didn't feel like she was going to be as capable as Sayaka or the others.

"Fine. You want a reason to contract? I'll give you one." Akima hissed, transforming. In the blink of an eye, she lunged for Sayaka, who barely dodged in time.

"HEY! What are you doing?!" Sayaka Shrieked and transformed, almost bringing her blade up too late. Their blades ground against each other as they both fought to push the other away. Akima's eyes were livid with rage while Sayaka's had glazed over in fear.

"Stop it! I'm not gonna fight you!" She cried, trying to push the older girl away, but Akima was stronger than her. Slowly, her great cleaver inched towards Sayaka's neck.

"You had better. Otherwise I'm going to kill Madoka. So either she fights with us or she dies." Akima demanded, leaping backwards to break the stalemate. Sayaka angled her blade to parry again while she sized up Akima.

"Are you crazy? Did Kyoko hit you too hard that last fight? Madoka's on our side! Come on this isn't funny!" She stammered, watching Akima for another attack.

"**NO SHE ISN'T!** I'm tired of her being on the sidelines and then never doing a single damn thing! No, she contracts now or **I KILL HER!**" Akima screamed, slicing into Sayaka's arm. Compared to Kyoko, Akima was having a much better time fighting, for she easily batted Sayaka's attacks aside. Unfortunately for Sayaka, this forced her on the defensive. Maokda stared helplessly as the two friends fought: Akima's whirlwind of heavy attacks and punches, and Sayaka's desperate fight to block each one. Akima wasn't going unharmed, for Sayaka's sword would find its mark and cut her open, but more and more blows were being deflected.

And Sayaka was becoming exhausted. Driving a slash through Sayaka's defenses, Akima knocked the younger girl down and batted aside her sword. Raising her great cleaver above her head, she prepared for the killing blow. Sayaka feebly put her hand up in defense, staring in terror at the gleam in Akima's eyes.

"ALL RIGHT!" Madoka shrieked, forcing Akima to stop her attack. Sweat ran in rivulets down her face as she panted, her great cleaver hoisted above her. Madoka sobbed as she sank to her knees. "I'll…I'll contract. But under one condition!" Scowling, Akima lowered her weapon and balanced it on her shoulder. Inclining her head to continue, her eyes shined eerily in the night. "You need to stop fighting everyone. I'll contract if you stop fighting. Just….just give me time to think of my wish." Madoka begged as tears ran down her face.

"Fine. But you have one day. Then I'm coming after you again." Akima spat, then reverted back to a human. Her soul gem had darkened into a dull orange and pulsed faintly. Turning around, she walked away from them both and disappeared into the night. Sayaka collapsed onto the ground, relieved that the fight was over. Her body screamed in agony as she started tapping into her power to heal herself. Madoka sniffed and crawled towards her, holding her friend as she healed.

"I don't understand. An hour ago she was fine. Now…..now I don't know what she is anymore." Sayaka whispered, clutching Madoka's arm. Her friend looked at her through the tears and nodded.

"She's scaring me. It's like the person we've known up to now died and the thing that took its place cares nothing for us." Madoka replied, her voice cracking. Rubbing her eyes, she helped Sayaka up and held her, feeling her transform into a human again. Looking up at her, Madoka was shocked to see that Sayaka was also crying, but hers was more out of sorrow than fear.

"C-c-can I stay with you tonight? I'm afraid to go home now." Sayaka asked, her arms suddenly starting to shake. Madoka felt this and nodded. Giving a smile, Sayaka stood up and together they made their way to Madoka's.

* * *

Homura set Kyoko down in her apartment, having lugged the redhead in her weakened state from the train station. Unlike Sayaka and Akima, Kyoko's healing factor wasn't as accelerated, so she was still trying to heal. Depositing her onto a sofa, Homura sat down and sighed.

"Y'know….that's the first time you've done that." Kyoko observed, rolling on her side to face Homura. Homura looked at her oddly, prompting Koyko to pinch her nose. "I meant, that's the first time you've done something human. You're like a robot sometimes."

Homura nodded, then reclined on her sofa. "Yes. I'll admit that I've never had this much trouble before." Kyoko looked at her funny, causing Homura to sigh again. "If I explained it to you, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Kyoko snapped, scowling as her facial scar finally started to knit itself together. Unlike the rest of her injuries, this one would take the most time given how grievous it was. Homura nodded at the challenge and cleared her throat.

"I'm from the future. My sole purpose here is to prevent Madoka Kaname from contracting with Kyubey. Up until now, the timeline was very straightforward, but this latest string of events has me confused as to what to do next."

When she looked over, she wasn't surprised to see Kyoko frozen with confusion.

"Waitaminute. You're from the future? So that's why you can be everywhere at once. You control time don't you?" Kyoko said, piecing together what she knew. "So that means that this Akima-chick ain't something you've encountered before?"

"No. And she's had me distracted enough to not focus on Madoka. She almost contracted today during the fight."

"There you go harping on about her contracting. What is so bad about it anyway?" Kyoko asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Homura looked away, suddenly finding herself in a bind. She could tell Kyoko truth, or she could wait.

No. Kyoko had to know.

"There is something Kyubey hasn't told you about us. Have you ever wondered where witches come from?" Homura asked, causing Kyoko shake her head. Kyoko looked at her for an answer, eliciting a nod from Homura. "When a Puella Magi's Soul Gem becomes completely corrupted, it destroys itself and transforms into a Grief Seed. The Puella Magi ceases to exist and becomes a witch, destined to cause despair and suffering for as long as it remains in this world."

Kyoko froze again, this time in fear. "Wh-wh-what?!"

"You heard me. If we don't cleanse our Soul Gems, we die and become a witch. That is the true purpose of a Puella Magi: to balance out the hope we strive to generate, we create a well of despair into which all must perish until we are defeated. This is the one truth to our existence. Glorifying this role as that of a protector only denies the end result; we are not heroes, but monsters waiting to be born."

Kyoko looked down and tried to make sense of this and paled. So, this was what she really was: a witch waiting to be born. When, she did not know, but now it was certain no matter how much she wanted to deny it. "Why wouldn't Kyubey tell us this?"

"If he told you what you really became in the end, would you accept the contract? I think not." Homura replied, her eyes boring holes into Kyoko. The other girl finally sat up, but looked down at her boots. Homura stood up and poured Kyoko some tea. Handing it to her, she waited for her to accept it before sitting back down.

"It can be delayed: the less you waste your power, the better. And the less you feel despair, the longer you can stay a Puella Magi. Which is why I fear that Akima may become a witch, given her current emotional state. Normally Sayaka would have by now, but events have transpired so that the critical moments that push her over the edge never occurr." Homura whispered, looking at Kyoko.

"An' why's that?" Kyoko replied, sipping some tea.

"I saw it in her eyes tonight. She's giving up. Now she's out to kill, or do much worse. If we can delay this until the Walpurgisnacht, then we should be fine. But if she turns, we must destroy her at all costs. I will not allow her to add to the Walpurgisnacht's power." Homura stated, staring at Kyoko. "I trust you will assist me in this?"

Kyoko put the teacup down and nodded.

"Just promise me one thing. If I ever get to that point before becoming a witch, take me out."

Homura nodded in agreement and stared at her clock. Time was running out for them all.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8-Would you stop?_

The rain splattered softly against the window pane as Sayaka held herself. Madoka had fallen asleep a long time ago, leaving Sayaka alone in the night. If she was still awake, the two of them would be probably be talking about what had transpired an hour ago. The one thing sticking in her mind was the fact that Akima had lashed out at Madoka, and had also been more than eager to attack Sayaka as well. Plus, each of Akima's attacks had hurt; the pain of each impact could still be felt on Sayaka's body. Not only that, but the look in Akima's eyes wasn't rage or anger.

It was envy.

She felt overwhelmed with a pervading sense of this being her fault to begin with. If Akima hadn't gotten involved in her first fight with Kyoko, then they wouldn't be in this situation. And this was what scared her: What if Akima had never become involved? What would have happened to her had she kept up her fighting with Kyoko? What about Madoka? Sayaka clutched herself harder as she thought this, and felt her eyes sting.

She felt lost, and no one could help her.

* * *

Akima perched on the windowsill, one leg hanging out as she cast her gaze on the city. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, and the chill of the night was slowly fading away. In her palm, her soul gem pulsed faintly, and was darker than the last time she had seen it. While it frightened her, it was smothered under the simmering rage she held for Madoka.

Or was it really rage? Perhaps it was jealousy: jealousy that Madoka was involved but still hadn't contracted with the rest of them. Not only that but Sayaka had gotten in the way. While it pained her to lash out at a friend, Sayaka needed to be educated. Her naiveté was blinding her to the truth of Akima's situation, and trying to talk it out would have been futile. No, action had been the only choice to get through to her, even if Akima felt bad about it.

_Hey moron._

Akima smirked as she looked down and spotted Kyoko standing below her. The girl was nibbling on an apple and carried a bag full of them.

_Can I come up? We need to talk._

_That depends, are you going to insult me like you did last time?_

Kyoko snarled, prompting Akima's smirk to widen.

_You weren't listening the last time! I asked you to leave and you refused._

_You threatened my friends._

_So? I had to, how else was I supposed to get your attention?! *sigh* Look. Homura asked me to talk to you._

_So what are you, her lapdog now?_

Kyoko looked down, basking in the truth of the statement. Looking back up at Akima she bit off another chunk of apple.

_So can I come up or not?  
_Akima hoisted her leg back inside and stood up. Bracing herself on the widowsill, she dropped down, spinning her keys after getting up.

"Let just talk here." She smirked, sitting down on a planter. Leaning back against the lamppost, Akima placed her hands behind her head and looked at Kyoko. Her lips were pulled tight in a smile as she nodded to the seat next to her. Kyoko looked at her from the side and sat down.

"Don't be shy. I won't bite." Akima hissed, beckoning Kyoko closer. An awkward silence fell over them as Kyoko looked into Akima's eyes, and pulled back slightly. Akima's eyes sparkled with hunger: a sensation that sent a thousand icy fingers down Kyoko's spine. Not even Homura's stoic nature elicited this sense of dread. Akima examined her fingernails as she waited for Kyoko to compose herself, grinning at the younger girl's apprehension.

"What do you know about witches?" Kyoko finally asked, looked down at her boots. Turning to face her, Akima sat forward, letting her boots rest on the ground.

"We kill them and we drain them for energy. What's there to know?" Akima replied, her teeth grinding together in frustration. "Come on, even I knew that."

"Okay, what if I told you there's more to it than that?" Kyoko whispered, staring at the bag this time. Akima tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. Kyoko fidgeted, tracing a circle in the ground with the toe of her boot. The back of her mouth was dry, forcing her to swallow before continuing. She had been dreading this moment, but there was no escaping it now.

"We,…..we've been lied to." Kyoko finally said, her shoulders crumpling. Akima leaned towards her and scowled.

"Explain."

"Kyubey's lied to us about the real reason witches exist. Supposedly a Puella Magi is the larval form of a witch, more specifically the soul gem is a Grief Seed just waiting to hatch. This happens when the Soul Gem isn't cleaned often and becomes drained, or corrupted with despair." Kyoko hissed, her gaze sharpening into rage. Akima softened her scowl, picking up on the girl's anger. This wasn't rage directed towards her, this was anger focused on the unfairness of the revelation. "We're meant to become witches, and from there exist until a Puella Magi comes along to harvest us. The cycle continues, and Kyubey eats us like candy."

"And if he told us this before we contracted, no one would wanna become one of us." Akima uttered, the haze of anger clearing from her mind. "Because then he couldn't eat the spent Grief Seeds…"

Kyoko didn't catch Akima's sentence trailing off, for she was focused in her own misery. It wasn't until she heard sobbing that she looked over.

"Hey what's wrong?" she asked, scooting closer to Akima. The other girl's eyes were wet with tears as she clutched her head.

"I almost forced Madoka to contract. In fact I coerced her into contracting." Akima sobbed, pulling her legs up towards her. Kyoko looked at her in confusion, but felt a weight drop in her heart.

"You me- Wait did she contract already?" Kyoko demanded, jumping off the planter. Snarling she grabbed Akima by her collar and hoisted her up. "**ANSWER ME!** **Did you make her contract?!**"

"I-I-I t-t-told her t-t-to decide on h-her wish by t-t-t-tomorrow even-n-ning! Honest!" Akima blubbered, her eyes puffy and red from crying. Kyoko's own eyes widened in fear as she dropped her.

"You…why?" Kyoko asked of her, intent on getting to the heart of the matter. Akima covered her mouth and closed her eyes, sobbing as she realized what she'd almost done.

"I was angry. At her, and at Sayaka. Sayaka for being naieve, a-a-and Madoka for staying on the sidelines. I didn't mean to, honest! Please, you have to believe m-"

Kyoko's backhand came out of nowhere and snapped Akima's head to the side. She faced it back towards Kyoko and opened her mouth to protest, but Kyoko smacked her again.

"What is wrong with you?! You can't just force someone to contract like that, especially her! Every time I've seen her, she's not in any real danger, and if I'm right about this she doesn't have any specific needs either! If she had contracted just for the sheer reason to contract, I woulda' beat the shit out of her right then and there!" Kyoko barked, her fist clenched in rage. "No one is supposed to contract just because they can: only contract for yourself, not because you can or for anyone else. Only we can understand each other. This ain't something you sign up for lightly. Not only is it full-time, it makes you sacrifice a lot. I know from experience" Kyoko said, her voice a lot softer now. Akima gathered herself and leaned against a planter, her eyes still red from crying. Kyoko shook her head and sat down next the older girl, reaching into the bag for an apple. Shoving it into Akima's face, she waited for the girl to take it before grabbing one for herself.

"I'm such an idiot." Akima finally said, clutching her apple. "I just, I….I was tired of seeing her just stand there and do nothing, while I'm forced to fight you and Homura just to find some meaning in all this."

"I don't get it. Whadya mean by that?" Kyoko asked, biting a chunk out of her apple. Akima nibbled on hers before continuing.

"I'm not from around here."

"Well duh. I fi-"  
"No you don't understand, I'm not from this world. I'm from another plane of existence, and I don't know how to get home." Akima whispered, taking a larger chunk out of her apple. Koyko swallowed hers, but her eyes were definitely locked on Akima.

"I don't get it." She finally stated, shifting her position so she could lean her head on her arm. Still biting into the apple, she motioned for her to continue.

"I'm as confused as you are. One minute I'm headed north to meet up with my mom and some friends, the next minute I'm here. All I want is to go home, and I don't know how."

"An' you contracted because?" Kyoko asked, even if she already knew the answer.

"I just wanted to get home, and dying right then and there wasn't going to help." Akima replied, holding the apple in front of her. Kyoko tossed the finished core aside and reached for another apple, nodding in understanding.

"And at that point you just wanted some payback when you saw me again?" Kyoko inquired, her eyes scanning Akima's face. Akima sighed before answering.

"Yeah. I get mad pretty easily." Kyoko almost choked on her apple as she laughed, giving a snort in reply.

"You could say that again. All right look, I can't really help you get home, but I can help you survive just a little longer." She said, standing up. Offering her hand, she pulled Akima upright, wincing at how heavy she was. "Geez, you work out a lot?"

"Not exactly." Akima only replied, staring down at Kyoko. It was now that she was taken aback by how short she was, and almost giggled. "You remember my power right? How I can manipulate electricity?" Kyoko nodded in response and winced a little.

"Yeah, and it's pretty annoying."

Akima chuckled and scratched her head. "Yeah well, for some reason, I can burn through fat in an instant. So I can eat what I want, and how much I want." She was expecting Kyoko to stare at her like Madoka and Sayaka had, but instead she gasped in surprise.

"No way! I wish I could do that!" She cried, the enthusiasm in her voice lightening the mood. Akima smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, you could stand to stop eating so much, Tubby." She joked, poking Kyoko in the stomach. She squealed in protest and jumped back.

"Stop it!" She barked, her cheeks flushing slightly. Akima held up her hands in surrender and sat down.

"Okay, I'll back off for now. But you know it's true." She said, snickering. Kyoko rubbed her shoulder in embarrassment, but silently agreed.

"Okay enough about me, let's focus on cleaning up your Soul Gem." She offered, summoning her own. "Let's go find a witch, I'll kill it for you, and then we can share the cleansing. Sound good?"

"We can do that?" Akima asked, the doubt clearly evident in her voice. Kyoko only shrugged as she chomped down on another apple.

"I fink sho." She replied through a mouthful of apple. Turning around, Kyoko gathered up her bag and walked off. Akima nodded and followed behind, her mind struggling with it's growing doubt.

Maybe now she could start feeling happy again.

* * *

She was wrong. Jealousy continued to wrap itself around Akima as she watched Kyoko in action. The younger girl was easily dispatching each attack, and responding in kind with her own. The witch herself was struggling to grab Kyoko with its tendrils, but every time it came close, Kyoko's whip came out and batted it aside.

"Hey! This ain't no spectator sport: let's go!" Kyoko growled as she ducked under a grab. Akima nodded and flung a sphere of light at the witch, watching as it ignited her upon impact. The witch screeched, but continued attacking. Akima's mood was darkening as she watch Kyoko continue to prove herself in combat, whereas all Akima could do was sit there and fling light balls. Her cleaver was practically useless: one wrong move and she'd be snared.

Kyoko nimbly flipped over another snare attempt and slashed open the offending tendril. Sneering, she spun her spear and shredded the tendril some more, flinging herself towards the center of the mass. Unlike Elsa Maria, this Witch was an actual mass of writhing tentacles, not some spontaneous mass that sprung up to defend. Still, it was proving a difficult fight, and Kyoko was becoming annoyed with Akima's lack of participation. It was as if the girl was caring less and less about her own well-being, even after the pep talk she'd been given. Dodging another grab, Kyoko spun to address her.

"Hey! Wake up and fi-" She started, but was shocked when she couldn't find her. Looking around, she was too focused on Akima to notice the tentacle aimed at her back. With a wet slap, the appendage batted Kyoko to the side, sending her crashing into the ground. Angrily picking herself up, she flung the spear head towards the tentacles again and snarled. Once she got done with this, she'd have to berate Akima on her lack of attendance.

* * *

Akima sat crying nearby, her magical girl costume dissipated. Instead of staying to help, she had fled. Kyoko's skill in combat wasn't unknown to her, but to see her attack the witch with such vigor and grace had been enough to feed the growing doubt inside Akima. It made her jealous of Kyoko's ability, and shamed her because of it.

Despite her fierce bravado, she was no more proficient at this than Sayaka was, and the fact that she had looked up to Akima added to the shame. She was starting to become a failure as a Puella Magi: first her own inexperience and arrogance getting the better of her, and now the revelation of how incompetent she was. All she could do was hit things with an over-sized blade and blast enemies with solidified light, whereas Kyoko could swap between weapon forms and hammer away. And Sayaka had super-healting, could spawn blades from nowhere, and protect herself with her cape.

The air vibrated as the barrier collapsed and a lightly bruised Kyoko stomped out of it. Storming up to Akima, she backhanded her and snarled.

"HEY! What're you tryin' ta pull here by leaving me like that?! We were supposed to take it down together!" Kyoko snapped, clutching the Grief Seed in her hand. Akima sniffed and looked at her with puffy eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just…I froze up back there." She blubbered, but Kyoko shook her head.

"No you lost your confidence. I told you that you can do this, and here you are bawling like a baby. Do you wanna cleanse your soul gem or not?" She barked, glaring at Akima. Akima held herself, burying her face into her knees. Kyoko threw up her hands and tossed the Grief Seed at her.

"Just use the damn thing. I'm done trying to help you." She huffed, jumping up and away. Akima looked at the Grief Seed and picked it up. Stuffing it in her pocket, she got up and started walking.

* * *

She had been walking for what seemed like hours before she picked up on someone else following her. Spinning around, she was surprised to see Sayaka standing behind her.

"Been following you for the past mile or so. You still wanna attack me or are you gonna apolog-" Sayaka started, but was cut off as Akima wrapped her up into a hug.

"Please….I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about attacking you last night. I didn't mean to get so mad." Akima whispered, her hands clutching Sayaka's back. The younger girl twisted out of the hug and glared at her.

"First off what is wrong with you?!And second, don't ever attack me or Madoka like that again!" Sayaka barked, her eyes ablaze in anger. Akima nodded, then pulled out the Grief Seed and her Soul Gem. Its light was a tiny spark of orange, strangled in an overwhelming brown. Touching the two together, she watched as the darkness dissipated, flowing into the Grief Seed. The Seed sparked violently, causing Akima to drop it in shock. Out of nowhere, Kyubey materialized and ate it, shaking his head at her.

"You really need to focus on killing witches more often. You can't just let others kill them for you." He chided, his tail swishing behind him. Sayaka looked first to him, than to Akima, then folded her arms.

"What is he talking about?" She asked, facing Akima.

"I…well…Kyoko and I tried to take down a witch, but I abandoned her during the fight. She's…..she's pretty mad about it." Akima replied, sitting down. Sayaka frowned, then waved her hand.

"Puh-lease. I don't care about what she thinks. Still though, you really need to kill your own witches." Sayaka said, wagging her finger at Akima. On the surface, she appeared to be the lecturing school teacher, but underneath, she was barely keeping it together. She didn't know if all this was an act and Akima would attack her at any second, or if Akima really was having a crisis of faith. Either way, her tears were real, and it didn't look like they were stopping any time soon. Sighing, Sayaka shook her head.

"Look. You have to see this from my standpoint here okay? Normally I'd be super mad at you. Instead, I'm more focused on figuring you out right now. Are you still gonna kill Madoka?" Sayaka asked, preparing to summon her Soul Gem. Akima shook her head, and Sayaka relaxed. "Okay good, I was afraid I was gonna have to fight you again."

"Wait, you're just going to forgive me just like that?" Akima sputtered, the tears still flowing.

"Well,…no. I mean. I'm not as suspicious of you as before, but I'm a lot less scared of you." Sayaka replied, the nervousness coloring her voice. Akima nodded, sitting down. Sayaka followed suit, sitting next to her. "So….you sure you're not going to kill me?"

The long pause after the question started to bother Sayaka. Akima sat there, fixated on her boots again, before speaking.

"To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do anymore." She said, but something in her voice told Sayaka she was hiding something. She looked at Akima before scowling again.

"Tell me you're not getting all mopey on me are you?" She barked, her attitude more of irritation than anger. "I mean, no offense, but I'm not a good people person when it comes to this sort of thing. So if you're about to break down and cry again, I don't know how to help you." She said slyly, adding a grin. Akima looked over and sighed.

"God you're a friggin' idiot. I'm not mopey!" She argued, her eyes shifting to a bright green. Sayaka's eyes lit up with glee as she grabbed Akima's face.

"Do that again!" She squealed, causing Akima to struggle under her grip.

"Let go! And do what exactly?!" She stammered, but Sayaka held on.

"The thing you do with your eyes! Change em' again!" Sayaka sang, prompting Akima to twitch slightly. She was fighting the urge to smile, but Sayaka's glee was disarming.

"All right fine, let go." She barked, prompting Sayaka to release her. She concentrated, tapping into her abilities, and closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were a bright yellow. Sayaka gasped in delight and hugged her.

"That is so awesome! I love that you can do that!" She squealed again. Akima sighed, admitting defeat.

"So one minute I'm the problem child and you're lecturing me, now all you care about is the color of my eyes?" She demanded, prompting Sayaka to poke her in the face.

"Well….you're not crying anymore now are you?" Sayaka stated, her grin widening. Akima was about to reply when she looked away. It was true, the tears had stopped, and she was definitely a lot more cheerful now. She still doubted herself however, and it was starting to grab hold of her again. For now though, Sayaka had staved off the worst of it.

"No I'm not…..dork." She said, grabbing Sayaka's head to ruffle her hair. Squealing in protest, Sayaka giggled as she tried to break free, prompting Akima to rub her knuckles harder.

Things were looking up it seemed.


End file.
